This portrait of the sultan and his grand vizier was probably produced in Sweden at the time of the 1789 peace treaty, when the debts from Karl XII’s time in Bender were settled. The detailing on his magnificent costume, with turban, agraff and jewelled decoration on the coat, were popular elements of
18th-century European fashion.

Selim III received an extensive education. He was particularly interested in music, literature, calligraphy and poetry, writing poems with subjects that included the Russian annexation of Crimea. His time in power was dominated by wars with Russia, France and Great Britain. It is said that he once dug trenches himself, to protect Istanbul from the British.

Selim III undertook a comprehensive programme of reforms that were inspired by the West. This included modernising the army, which riled conservatives, particularly the sultan’s guards, the Janissary. It ended badly – Selim III is the only sultan in the country’s history to have been murdered.