Arif Pasha, Ottoman Court Costumes, Plate 2, 1863

Plate 2 from Arif Pasha's 1863 series documenting Ottoman court dress, printed as a multi-stone chromolithograph by Lemercier of Paris. The composition places Sultan Mahmud II enthroned in ceremonial regalia with three of the officials closest to him: the Darüssaade Ağası, Chief of the Black Eunuchs; the Silahtar Ağa, Sword Bearer; and the Baş Çuhadar, First Valet and keeper of the Sultan's wardrobe. Each figure is captioned in Ottoman Turkish and French.

Arif Pasha (1808–1865) conceived the series as a visual archive of court dress under Mahmud II, the thirtieth Ottoman sultan; the complete publication ran to seventeen plates, each keyed to specific rank and ceremonial function within the imperial hierarchy. Plate 2 concentrates on the innermost circle of sultanic authority, and records that dress at a pivotal moment, immediately before the Tanzimat reforms remade Ottoman administrative and ceremonial life.

The printing is true stone lithography, with sequential layers of color from separate stones; magnified detail shows the precise ink registration, rich gold and ochre highlights, warm flesh tones, and crisp black outlines. The colophon reads "Imp. Lemercier r. de Seine 57 Paris" with the Premier Livre designation, confirming this sheet as part of the original first-edition issue.