Captain Forbes Macbean (Active Mid 19th Century) Seller Of Sweetmeats, Constantinople

CAPTAIN FORBES MACBEAN (active mid 19th century)
Seller of Sweetmeats, Constantinople watercolour and graphite on paper, extensively inscribed in the artist’s hand verso.

Inscribed lower margin: Constantinople May 30th
Executed in Constantinople for "Sketches of Character & Costume in Constantinople, Ionian Islands &c." a collection of lithographs by Captain Forbes MacBean, published in London in 1854 by Thomas M'Lean.

This detailed and characterful watercolour is an original on-the-spot study by Captain Forbes MacBean, produced during his sojourn in Constantinople and subsequently used in preparation for the lithographic series Sketches of Character & Costume in Constantinople, Ionian Islands &c . The drawing records a street vendor of sweetmeats—an archetype of Ottoman urban life—and exemplifies MacBean’s combined documentary, ethnographic and artistic intentions.

The confectioner is shown holding a small pair of scales while supporting a broad, shallow tray brimming with honeyed and sugared delicacies. MacBean captures both costume and gesture with immediacy: striped shirt, loose trousers, soft slippers, and the distinctive wrap-turban characteristic of working-class Ottoman tradesmen. His palette, restrained yet sensitively modulated, conveys the textures of fabrics and the varied tones of the sweets on display.

A major feature of this work is the extensive autograph text preserved on the reverse, a rare survival that provides an unusually vivid account of the vendor’s trade and the cultural context of sweetmeats in 19th-century Constantinople. In the inscription, MacBean describes the subject as “a very popular man… for all the natives are children in their passion for fancies,” going on to explain the preparation of “the zahat le comb,” identified by him as a mixture of “honey and ground rice with a little olto of jole,” and noted as the finest of the compounds sold. He further remarks that “there are regular factories of bon bons here, much patronised also by the seniors who in the question of the superior qualities of Turkish sweets to any other, firm and true believers.”

The verso passage continues with a lively anecdotal observation on bargaining customs in the bazaars: the “wily old Turk or Jew,” MacBean notes, will in a matter of minutes offer refreshments—“a pipe, coffee and a glass of sherbet”—after which the visitor, suitably softened, may find himself a “prouder but poorer man,” having paid several times the value of a silk gown or a string of amber beads. This descriptive text, rich in period idiom and cultural detail, enhances the documentary value of the sheet and reveals the artist’s interest in both local character and the social theatre of commerce.

The front inscription Constantinople May 30th confirms the work as an eyewitness sketch made during MacBean’s time in the city. Original watercolours from the Sketches of Character & Costume series are significantly rarer than the printed plates that disseminated them, and examples retaining extended contemporary annotation are particularly scarce.

A rare and engaging original drawing from MacBean’s Constantinople studies, enriched by substantial contemporary textual commentary that offers an exceptional insight into daily commercial life and confectionery culture in the Ottoman capital.

The last photograph is a copy of the lithograph from Sketches of Character & Costume in Constantinople, Ionian Islands &c. and is for comparison, not part of the purchase.

This is the most accurate transcription I have been able to prepare, subject to minor uncertainties inherent in the manuscript.

Seller of Sweetmeats, Constantinople

A very popular man is this, in Constantinople, for all the natives are children in their passion for fancies, the zahat le comb a mixture of honey and ground rice with a little olto of jole is what the best compound they sell.

There are regular factories of bon bons here, much patronised also by the seniors who in the question of the superior qualities of Turkish sweets to any other, firm and true believers and many are the opportunities of proof for in hesitating, as to the price of any expensive article in the bazaar, the wily old Turk or Jew will in a few minutes get you from on the counter, where after your head has been effectually softened by a pipe, coffee and a glass of sherbet, which are presented to you by his servants, you find yourself a very much prouder but poorer man in the possession of a silk duckling gown or a string of amber beads for which you have paid another three times their value.

Condition report:

The sheet shows age-related toning and surface marks . Verso with extensive autograph inscriptions and period handling marks consistent with mid-19th-century field drawings.