Concubines Archive

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Portrayed woman was a concubine in the harem of one of the kings of the Ottoman dynasty and most probably the king lived between 1860 to 1926 as that’s the lifespan of the French artist, Charles Amable Lenoir, who has depicted this painting. The Ottoman kingdom lasted until 1922, so it is most probable that the woman in the portrait is an actual concubine from the Ottoman harem. The word, Odalisque, originate from Turkish and meant a chambermaid. An Odalisque didn’t necessarily served the king but served the concubines of the king. But, if she has some sort of skill or beauty enough to represent her to the king or make her one of his concubines she could have a ‘promotion’. She could even be […]

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Being an orientalist painter, Filippo Baratti produced paintings mostly based on the East Asian cultures. He, himself was a Hungarian painter, who took great interest in eastern cultures and had a knack to depict them with cultural respects. Middle Asian Islamic Culture The current painting represents a middle Asian or northern South African culture where harems (separate buildings for wives and concubines in Muslim culture, restricted for unauthorized people to enter) were the part of the royal and aristocratic society. The painting is more than 100 years old. The exact date isn’t specified. But, we can assume that at the time of the depiction, the Harem practice was very province and normal as even today, in some Muslim countries the custom of harem is in […]

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