Sultan Mahmud I

When the revolt of 1730 pushed Ahmed III off the throne, his nephew Mahmud I became sultan at 34. Like other Ottoman princes of his day, he had spent his adult life shut away inside the palace, far from government, and the Rijksmuseum describes him as less worldly than his uncle.

In the same gallery hangs Vanmour's portrait of Ahmed III, and the two pictures are close to twins. They are almost exactly the same size. Each sultan stands full length in the open air, a staff in his right hand, with two attendants and palace buildings behind him, and Mahmud wears the same fur-lined kaftan and the same ceremonial turban, the kâtibî, wound round a flat cap.

The Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen, who owned both, stayed in Istanbul until 1744. For most of his posting, this was the sultan he dealt with.