An Ottoman prince holding a tulip, Turkey, circa 1730

gouache on paper, illuminated corner-pieces, laid down on an album page with ebru borders, numbered '13' in Arabic numerals in the upper left margin  

In good overall condition, minor paint flaking to jacket fur trim, as viewed.
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Portraits such as the present example were often painted in the first half of the eighteenth century for inclusion in album compilations of portraits, costume studies, flowers and genre scenes. Among the foremost artists of the period were Abdullah Bukhari and Levni. The painter of the portrait to hand is likely to be a third artist, who most likely painted the Ottoman courtesan in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin in one of the Diez albums (F.73.S.13.Nr.4). Both subjects hold in their right hand a tulip, a common trend which emerged during the reign of Ahmed III (r.1703-30), an age that became known as the laleh devri ('tulip period').

Other comparable paintings can be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, including an album with several closely-related paintings (ARABE 6077, described but unillustrated in 'Revues de Bibliothèques', Dixième Année-1900, pp.168-171). They too are attributed to the first half of the eighteenth century, and share similar page layout including comparable corner-pieces and ebru margins (see folios 11b and 12a). 

One of the Sloane albums in the British museum (SL 5258), named Habits of the Grand Signor’s Court, was produced slightly earlier, during the seventeenth century, and comprises a hundred and twenty-four portraits including Ottoman courtiers, officers and royalty.