Highlights
Dish with the portrait of Roxelana
- Artist
- –
- Locality
- Venice
- Date
- mid-16th century
- Material
- Colourless glass, reverse painted, lustre colours, gold leaf, shell gold, shell silver
- Dimensions
- D. 44 cm
- Location
- Gallery 22
- Inventory Number
- G 553
- Acquisition
- Assigned from the Munich Residence in 1855
- Epoch
- Renaissance
Description
The large dish is the most important example of Venetian glass art in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. The portrait of a splendidly dressed young woman is executed in the manner of a reverse glass painting on the underside of the bowl. The sitter can be identified as Roxelana, consort of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She came to Suleiman's harem as a Russian slave and soon rose to become his favourite and his most influential advisor. Suleiman was feared throughout Europe. Under his rule the Ottoman Empire reached its peak power and expansion. The reverse painting of hollow glassware appeared in Venice around 1525 and has survived on only about 35 glass plates and bowls worldwide.
You can also find this object in the online collection
To the ObjectMore Objects
