Fishing boats on the Sea of Marmara, at Kumkapı, Istanbul

An unusual subject for Preziosi, painted with characteristic vigour, this view is of Kumkapı and the southern walls of Istanbul, seen from the Sea of Marmara. In Byzantine times there was an important harbour here for galleys, yet it fell into disuse and was filled in. Eventually it became a place where only picturesque fishing boats moored, near the beach outside the Kumkapı gate.
We are grateful to Briony Llewellyn and Charles Newton for their assistance in cataloguing the present lot.