Circle or follower of Sir Peter Lely, A lady in masquerade dressed as Mihrimah Sultan, England, second half 17th century

Mihrimah Sultan (1522-78), whose name means 'Light of the Moon', was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (r.1522-66) and his favourite wife, the Sultana Rossa (Roxelana). She was a powerful Ottoman princess who played an active role in politics, both as head of the Imperial Harem (during the reign of Selim II (r.1566-74) and as an intermediary with foreign courts. She was the only child of Sultan Süleyman to be buried in her father's tomb in the Süleymaniye Mosque complex, Istanbul, and there remain two mosques in her name, one situated in the Uskudar quarter of Istanbul, built by the architect Mimar Sinan and the other at the Edirne Gate.

The Western tradition of portraying Mihrimah Sultan started with Titian (c.1488-1576), who is reported by Giorgio Vasari to have painted a portrait of the daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent. Although the original does not survive, it inspired several later copies, for example one attributed to the workshop of Titian, now in the Courtauld Gallery, London (inv. no.P.1978.PG.463) and another painted in seventeenth-century Italy, sold in these rooms, 31 March 2021, lot 57.

This particular portrait is attributable to the circle of Sir Peter Lely and it was probably painted in the second half of the seventeenth century. The subject is either Mihrimah Sultan herself or possibly a lady dressed up to look like her. Sir Peter Lely’s influence in this portrait is evident in the stylistic features of the sitter: the elongated face, the tall neck and slightly rounded and rosy cheeks as well as the thick arched eyebrows and the defined curly hair all recall contemporaneous portraits by the artist, for example the portrait of Mary II, now in the Royal Collection Trust (inv. no.OM250) or Portrait of a Lady, said to be Nell Gwyn, sold at Replica Shoes ’s, 7 December 2011, lot 26.