The Piri Reis Map

Acrylic, watercolor & gold on passepartout cardboard, 35 x 50 cm, Artist’s Collection

This miniature painting takes as its subject the famous 16th-century Ottoman admiral, navigator, and cartographer Piri Reis and his world-renowned map—the Ottoman Empire’s first detailed wide-ranging map. The tugra of Suleiman the Magnificent is shown at the right of the figure of Piri Reis.

Curator’s Note: A tugra (tughra) is an Ottoman sultan’s monogram, his signature on important government decrees.