An Exceptional Mother-of-Pearl and Tortoiseshell-Inlaid Calligrapher's Box, Turkey, late 17th century

of rectangular form standing on four short legs, comprising a lengthways-sliding lockable lid, opening to reveal a removable tray with scribal divisions bordered with elegantly carved mother-of-pearl, one end with a silver-mounted section comprising a sand shaker and ink well, one further shallow drawer, decorated throughout with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell and ebony inlaid with patterns of scrolling flowers, minute chequerboard bands and chevrons, the surface top with a bevelled mother-of-pearl border, with original silver-gilt openwork lock plate

Formerly in the Possession of Claude Alexandre de Bonneval (Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha, 1675-1747), and thence by descent. 

In very good overall condition, slight warping to the surface panel and small losses to the underside, some extremely minor nicks, as viewed.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Claude Alexandre de Bonneval [Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha] (1675-1747)

The extraordinary life of Claude-Alexandre Comte de Bonneval served to illustrate the great exploits of adventure possible during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Born in 1675 into a noble family of the Limousin, de Bonneval served with great distinction in the French army at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, and also in the Netherlands under Luxembourg. Despite his obvious military ability however, a spat with the French military authorities in 1704 caused the young de Bonneval to swap sides and he obtained a general's command in the Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy, fighting with notable bravery in a succession of campaigns against his own countrymen, the Pope, and afterwards against Turkey, being wounded at Peterwardein in 1716. Following this he briefly visited Paris to marry before taking part in the siege of Belgrade in 1717.

Under Eugene, great opportunities and advancements beckoned for de Bonneval, but these fell by the wayside as he fell out with the French-born Habsburg prince who sent him away to the Low Countries. De Bonneval's unruly temper landed him it yet further trouble with Eugene's deputy governor in the Netherlands, who had him imprisoned before condemning him to death. Luckily the death sentence was lifted after a year and de Bonneval was exiled to Venice, before offering his services to the Turkish government.

At this point de Bonneval converted to Islam (possibly to avoid extradition to Austria as much as anything else) and took the name Ahmed. Osman Pasha, recognising his military skills and experience, summoned de Bonneval, now widely known as Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha (having begun his services by founding a salary based artillery class in the military) and appointed him to reform the Turkish artillery along European lines. He gained the position of the Grand Seigneur (governor general) under Hekimoglu 'Ali Pasha's government and shortly after became the Grand Vizier's consultant. On one hand, Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha's career was a success, as not only did he seek to build an alliance with France through his reports on the foreign politics that he presented to the government's high court, but his ideas were recognised by Mahmud I (indeed one such idea was that the Mediterranean and Red Sea should be connected by a canal). Furthermore he was widely regarded as someone who worked very hard on the improvement and rehabilitation of the Ottoman army through various projects and also by creating maps. On the other hand, the French ambassador Marquis de Villeneuve argued that Ahmed Pasha was incapable of keeping a secret and thus was not a suitable state official.

Ahmed Pasha's turbulent life took a turn for the worse in 1738 when he fell out of favour with the Turkish authorities and was banished to Kastamonu. On his return a year later he never quite managed to regain his former influence and his main employment became furnishing the Porte with comments about European political developments. His fall from grace clearly affected him and he even sent a letter to Louis XV on his grief and sorrow. Despite living in Turkey for many years, Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha was not a regular figure in Ottoman social circles. Indeed his house in the Bayoglu district comprised two parts, one of which was decorated in the Oriental style, and the other in the European manner. To the former Ahmed Pasha would invite those Ottomans of liberal character every week to discuss philosophy and politics with them.

Humbaraci Ahmed Pasha died in 1747 and is buried in the cemetery of the Mewlewi-khane in Galata. His memoirs were published by Prince de Ligne as Mémoire sur le Comte de Bonneval (Paris, 1817). Further biographies include A.Vandal, Le Pacha Bonneval (Paris, 1885) and J.Almira, La Fuite à Constantinople (Paris, 1986). Among de Bonneval's known works are the following:

İcmâlü's-Sefâin fî Bihâri'l-Alem, concerning the naval forces of European governments (Süleymaniye Ktp., Esad Efendi, no. 2062/2, 21 vr).

Nemçe Çarı Memleketinin Ahvaline Dair Rapor, The Report on the Condition of the Hometown/Land of Nemçe Çarı (Süleymaniye Ktp., Esad Efendi, no 2062/1, 30 vr).

Mülûk ve Mileli Nasârâ'da Olan Havâdisin Takrîr-i İcmâli, The reports and proposals that he presented to Babiali, the Grand Viziership building. (Süleymaniye Ktp., Esad Efendi, no. 3889, 24 vr).

Bibliography

H. Bowen in Gibb et al (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol.1 (New Edition), Leiden, 1986, pp.291-2.
Abdulkadir Ozcan in H. Lamekani (Eds.), Islam Ansiklopedisi, cilt 18, Istanbul, 1998, pp.351-3.
Salim Ayduz in Osmanlilar Ansiklopedisi, cilt I, Istanbul, 1999, pp.147-8.