Cornelis Calkoen on his Way to his Audience with Sultan Ahmed III

Calkoen’s audience with Sultan Ahmed III took place on 14 September 1727 and followed a strict protocol. Here we see the retinue, unarmed according to convention, enter-ing the second courtyard of Topkapı Palace. Audiences were always held on the day that the Janissaries, the elite fighting force, received their pay. Just as Calkoen enters, the soldiers lunge noisily at the dishes of rice.