Albrecht Dürer (d.1528), A Turkish Family (Bartsch 85; Meder, Hollstein 80), engraving, circa 1496

A strong, Meder d impression, on paper with a letter B watermark (M. 290)

Trimmed just outside the borderline retaining a fillet of blank paper all around, thin areas with associated repaired at three corners, touches of pen and ink in the lower drapery of the man, the bottom of the rocks at lower right and at right of the upper borderline, a few repaired nicks at upper sheet edge, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, Turkish figures began to feature increasingly in European art. Dürer must have seen itinerant Ottomans on his first trip to Venice in 1494-5, and no doubt observed and drew them to be worked up into finished studies upon his return to northern Europe, though in some cases the figures were adapted from paintings by Gentile Bellini. Turkish women would not have accompanied their husbands on their travels, and, in contrast to the acutely observed male subject, the female figure with nurturing breast exposed is plainly a fanciful rendering based upon a European iconographical type.

Printed versions of this picturesque and exotic scene by Dürer are in various museum collections, including the British Museum (inv.no.1843,0513.227), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.no. 1984.1201.12), the Fogg Museum, Harvard (inv.no. G1105), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv.no. 68.185).