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Illustrations of Ottomans circa 1809 from
Stratford Canning's Pictures of Turkey
Bostanci, or Imperial Guard
Physical description: An official with a large red headdress, with a large sideways fold, carrying a staff
Object: Watercolour
Place of origin: Istanbul, Turkey (Painted)
Date: about 1809 (Painted)
Artist/Maker: Anonymous Greek artist (Painter)
Marks and inscriptions: Numbered 40
Dimensions: Height: Height: 32.3 cm, Width: 18.6 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum number: D.62-1895
Compare this with the 'Atlı yol hasekisi' in Fenerci Mehmed Albumu. Istanbul University Library (İÜK) copy (inv. no. T.9362),
'Yol Hasseki' in Elbicei Atika. Musée des Anciens Costumes Turcs de Constantinople, par Jean Brindesi,
and 'Haseki' in Costumes Orientaux, Recueil de costumes et vêtements de l'Empire ottoman au 18e siècle, Collection of costumes and clothing of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. Owned by Joseph Gabriel Monnier
Haseki = privileged.
2° Hasekis. It is a corps of three hundred non-commissioned officers, usually taken from among the Bostancıs. They wear a red cloth uniform, a sabre (ghaddaré), and hold a stick in their hands. (Pl. 149 and 150.) Those who are admitted to the corps receive this baton from the colonel, in the presence of the troops; each of them must pay the chief a ducat, and sacrifice a sheep in his hand, in the barracks of the company, which is situated in the seraglio. Sixty Hasekis are part of the Sultan's cortege, and are considered, for this reason, as bodyguards. The Bostancı-Başı, their chief, frequently sends them on commission to the provinces.
Source: Tableau général de l'Empire othoman. by M. de Mouradgea d'Ohsson, c.1787
