Long-lost Ottoman masterpiece fetches over £1 million at London auction
Osman Hamdi Bey's long-lost painting Preparing Coffee is seen at Sotheby’s auction house in London, UK, April 21, 2025. (AA Photo)
A rediscovered masterpiece by pioneering Ottoman artist Osman Hamdi Bey sold for £1,016,000 ($1.28 million) at Sotheby’s in London on Monday, slightly exceeding its minimum estimated value.
From black-and-white photograph to auction highlight
The painting, “Preparing Coffee,” dated 1881, was only known through a black-and-white photograph for decades until its recent emergence from a private Austrian collection. The artwork depicts two young women washing their hands in preparation for serving coffee in what appears to be an imagined interior possibly inspired by Topkapi Palace.
“It’s a truly beautiful painting—it shows two women respectfully depicted, washing their hands before preparing coffee,” said Claude Piening, Senior International Specialist in European Paintings at Sotheby’s, prior to the auction.
The oil on canvas work, measuring approximately 60.5 by 36 cm unframed, is signed and dated in the upper left corner. It features meticulous details characteristic of Hamdi Bey’s style, including a carved Kufic inscription on the stone lintel above the figures that reads “bismillah wa ma tawfi illa b’illah” (In the name of God, my success is only by Allah), a verse from the Quran.
The painting belongs to Hamdi Bey’s most productive period between 1878-1881. Art historians note that rather than depicting an actual place, the composition represents an artful arrangement of minutely observed elements creating a luxurious impression. The scene includes a coffee pot and cups awaiting preparation, alongside various cultural artifacts including a Mamluk brass bowl, Chinese-style vase, embroidered tea towels, and an ornamental ostrich egg pendant associated with Ottoman royalty.
The artwork’s provenance reveals a journey through multiple collections. It was first acquired around 1910 by Georgian art collector Prince Sadiq Yadigarov, then passed to his son Archil. In the 1930s, it entered a Viennese collection through marriage and remained with that family until 2008.
“Osman Hamdi Bey has long surpassed the local market—he stands among the leading Orientalist painters of the 19th century,” Piening told Anadolu Agency before the sale.
The pioneering Ottoman artist who bridged East and West
Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1860s after abandoning legal training to pursue archaeology and painting. Upon returning to Türkiye, he worked in the diplomatic service while continuing his artistic and archaeological endeavors. In 1881—the same year “Preparing Coffee” was created—he was appointed director of the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Topkapi Palace by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
His contributions to Türkiye’s cultural heritage include establishing a legal framework for the preservation of antiquities and founding Istanbul’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1882. His international recognition included membership in the Royal Academy of Arts in London, honorary membership at the University of Pennsylvania, the Légion d’honneur, and an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.
The final sale price of £1,016,000 reflects the artist’s continuing significance in the global art market, where his works regularly command seven-figure sums at auction.
Cultural significance beyond market value
The painting’s Latin signature and European painting style, combined with its distinctly Ottoman subject matter, exemplifies Hamdi Bey’s unique position as a cultural bridge between East and West during a pivotal period in Türkiye’s history.
