A fine watercolour view of Constantinople taken from Bulgarlu above Scutari, in the foreground two men smoking, another walking past with a donkey, a group of four men looking towards the city, the composition framed by trees.

A student of Piranesi, Mayer (1755-1803) was personally employed by Sir Robert Ainslie, British ambassador at Constantinople from 1776-92, to depict views on their travels. A highly talented artist, Mayer was the most accurate delineator of the Near East before David Roberts.

Watercolour and gouache on grey paper edged in black, titled beneath image, signed lower right, 59 x 92 cm. (23 ¼ x 36 ¼ in), framed.