Sidi Hadji Abdurrahman Adja (1720–1792)

1786

Richard Cosway

(British, 1742–1821)

Culture

England

Medium

graphite, watercolor, red chalk on paper

Measurements

Matted: 38.4 x 28.6 cm (15 1/8 x 11 1/4 in.); Sheet: 33.2 x 24.9 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2023.46

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The attire of this gentleman is that of a high-ranking North African secretary or scholar, which led scholars to identify him as the ambassador from Tripoli.

Description

Richard Cosway was a prolific painter in London, most well-known for his portrait miniatures and drawings, which he made both on commission and as personal exercises or mementos. Cosway and his wife, Maria Hadfield Cosway, held a fashionable salon at their London residence, and may have invited the likely subject of this drawing, the ambassador from Tripoli, Sidi Hadji Abdurrahman Adja (1720-1792). Abdurrahman Adja was in London in 1786, arrived to improve Tripoli’s reputation with Great Britain. Cosway portrayed the ambassador in a fleeting moment with eyes closed, making sure to capture the fine beard and robes for which he was much admired by London society.