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A talismanic medallion with the portrait of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, one of the emperors of the Ottoman Empire, which is thought to have been lost for centuries, is up for auction…
The bronze medallion, which was auctioned by Bonhams auction house, is planned to be sold for 2 million British pounds (approximately 82 million TL). It is estimated that the medallion, which contains the oldest known portrait of an Islamic ruler by a western artist, was ordered to be hung around the neck of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror.
II. The medallion, thought to be the only portrait of Mehmet in his youth, resurfaced in 2000. While historians and academics explained that the coin was very valuable and rare, Oliver White, head of Islamic and Indian art at Bonhams auction house, said, “This is a great rediscovery.”
“THE ONLY MEDALLION SHOWING YOUR YOUTH”
“This is the only known medallion depicting Mehmed II’s youth before he conquered Constantinople in 1453. It is thought that the medallion was worn by the Sultan as a personal talisman and provided a physical manifestation of his imperial aspirations as the successor of the Roman emperors,” White said.
While it is not known which Renaissance artist made the amulet, which is 92 mm in diameter, it was stated that the medallion was lost after the death of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1481.
Bonhams, which assigned a top value of £2 million to the portrait locket, announced that the bronze’s permanence had ensured its survival, but that “the absence of any text or iconographic detail on the reverse – unnecessary for its function as a talisman – helps to conceal the work’s striking background”.
The auction of the coin, which will be auctioned in England by Bonhams, will take place on May 21.
