The Inside of a Mosque, the Dervishes Dancing (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, vol. I, pl. 16)
This mid-eighteenth-century illustration of Aubry de La Mottraye’s travelogue depicts a scene that the author witnessed in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). The text details the ceremony of the sama of the Mevlevi Sufis, sometimes referred to as the "whirling dervishes" on account of their rotational movement. Depicted in a traditional samahane</> (hall for the sama), the dervishes in this image are depicted in differing moments of the ceremony, one rising, some in various states of whirling, another crouching to kiss the floor. Nearby musicians at right play the ney (flute) and a daf (drum), while a sheikh reads from the Qur’an.
Hogarth derived his image from one that Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin had engraved after Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, titled Les Dervichs dans leur temple de Péra, achevant de tourner (The Dervishes Turning in their Mosque at Pera (a district of Istanbul)). This had appeared in Recueil de cent estampes répresentant différents nations du Levant (A Collection of One Hundred Prints Representing Nations of the Levant, 1712-13, pl. 102). To clarify his source, Hogarth reduced the number of dancers from ten to six and adopted a more elevated viewpoint. His later image shows more of the interior together with congregants seated in pews along the walls.
Hogarth derived his image from one that Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin had engraved after Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, titled Les Dervichs dans leur temple de Péra, achevant de tourner (The Dervishes Turning in their Mosque at Pera (a district of Istanbul)). This had appeared in Recueil de cent estampes répresentant différents nations du Levant (A Collection of One Hundred Prints Representing Nations of the Levant, 1712-13, pl. 102). To clarify his source, Hogarth reduced the number of dancers from ten to six and adopted a more elevated viewpoint. His later image shows more of the interior together with congregants seated in pews along the walls.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Inside of a Mosque, the Dervishes Dancing (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, vol. I, pl. 16)
- Artist and engraver: William Hogarth (British, London 1697–1764 London)
- Engraver: After Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin (French, Paris 1698–after 1755)
- Artist: After Jean Baptiste Vanmour (French, Valenciennes 1671–1737 Istanbul (Constantinople))
- Author: Related author Aubry de La Mottraye (French, ca. 1674–1743)
- Date: 1723–24
- Medium: Etching and engraving
- Dimensions: sheet: 9 15/16 x 13 7/8 in. (25.2 x 35.2 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
- Object Number: 32.35(234)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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William Hogarth
ca. 1795
William Hogarth
September 30, 1747
Multiple artists/makers
1724
William Hogarth
John Beaver
after 1725
William Hogarth
after 1733
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