Jeweled Gun of Sultan Mahmud I
Tombstone
Title: Jeweled Musket of Sultan Mahmud I
Artist: Isma’il (Jeweler); Hovhannes Agha Duzian (Goldsmith)
Date: Gun: 1732/33; Miquelet Lock 1861/62
Medium: Steel, wood (Ash), gold, gilded silver, silver, nephrite, diamonds, emeralds (or beryls), rubies (or spinels); later miquelet lock, steel, gold
Credit Line: Walters Art Museum, 51.84
The Jeweled Musket of Sultan Mahmud I was part of a gun set patronized by the Ottoman Sultan. The collection also includes a few other bejeweled items, such as a pen and a dagger. Sultan Mahmud I is not a very high historical profile due in part to his stable and peaceful ruling style. The gun was a geopolitical statement by the Sultan early in his reign. He asserts his claim to the legacy of Ahmed III and establishes an ambitious promise to reclaim lost European territory. Holding high symbolic significance, the musket was a perfect fusion of extravagant royal artistry and military warning.