Antoine de Favray: Portrait of Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes and French Ambassador, in Turkish Attire (18th Century)

(Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey)

Charles Gravier was an important French diplomat. Between 1755 and 1768 he was stationed in Istanbul as an ambassador. In that period he improved the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and France and increased the trade between both countries. This portrait shows ambassador while he is wearing Ottoman clothing. notice also the bejeweled dagger in the yemeni belt, the string of prayer beads in his left hand and the 2 pocketwatches. This portrait is from the second half of the 18th Century.