An extraordinary gilt-gesso wall mirror celebrating the 16th…

An extraordinary gilt-gesso wall mirror celebrating the 16th century victory over the Turks/Ottoman Empire. Venetian, first half of the 19th century or earlier. Dr Susan Scollay ? on the Venetian/Ottoman rivalry. The Republic of Venice enjoyed robust trade in luxury goods with the Ottoman Empire at the same time as they were engaged in military conflict with their eastern Muslim rivals. Both economic and political powers were seeking domination of ocean trade in the Mediterranean Sea. Their skirmishes persisted from the late fourteenth century until the early eighteenth century when the final Venetian-Ottoman war of 1714?18 resulted in a victory for the Ottomans who reclaimed territory previously lost to their still active trading partners. Previously the Venetians had led a combined fleet of the Holy League in 1571 that decisively defeated more than 200 Ottoman galleys, near the Gulf of Lepanto in modern-day Greece. The Venetian victory ended Ottoman maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean and ensured the security of continental Europe. Many Ottomans were killed or taken captive in the battle that has inspired writers and artists up to the present day. Painters such as Tintoretto and Titian in the sixteenth century and even Cy Twombly as recently as 2001 have depicted and glorified the Venetian victory. Dimensions: 190 cm high 150 cm wide