Felice Schiavoni, Portrait of Ropen Carabit, 1824

Signed and dated 'Schiavoni/Ft 1824' (centre right) oil on canvas 76.2 x 55.9cm
 

We are grateful to Professor Fernando Mazzocca for confirming the attribution to Felice Schiavoni on the basis of photographs.

Felice Schiavoni was born in Trieste, formerly part of the Austrian Empire. His father Natale Schiavoni (1777-1858) was a renowned artist who taught his son to paint. Schiavoni attended the Brera Academy in Milan and was later awarded a prize and medal by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. During his artistic career, he completed a large number of commissions for Russian patrons in Venice. He also painted altarpieces for churches in Trieste, Istria and Chioggia.

The completion of this portrait by Schiavoni in Trieste marked the successful arrival of the Master of Stables and his fine horses. In 1816, Natale Schiavoni accepted an invitation from Francis I, the Emperor of Austria, to take up residency at court in Vienna. He stayed there until 1821, painting the Imperial family and the aristocracy. He may have been the link for Felice to receive this commission in Trieste, especially as father and son worked closely together.

This majestic ceremonial portrait illustrates 24-year-old Ropen Carabit, a native of Arabkir Armenia, and Master of Stables at the Imperial Austrian Royal Consul in Aleppo, Syria. In February 1824, Carabit transported Arabian horses from Syria to the port of Trieste (formerly part of the Austrian Empire) as a gift from the Imperial Austrian Royal Consul in Aleppo to Francis I, Emperor of Austria (1804–35), the last Holy Roman Emperor (1792–1806). Carabit is depicted in the prime of his youth with upturned lips reminiscent of the expression of the Mona Lisa. The hilt of his dagger or short sword is hinted in the right corner of the canvas. He wears an ochre turban to compliment the warm red tones of his layered Ottoman-style ensemble.

Ropen Carabit could have taken a number of different routes from Aleppo to reach Trieste (across land or by using established sea trade routes): in 1846, a French Consul estimated the time required for moving textiles from Switzerland to Baghdad (before steamships and the Suez Canal). Within this trip, there was a calculation from Trieste to Aleppo - first, from Trieste to Beirut by sailboat the estimated time was 25 days and then Beirut to Aleppo, approximately 10 Days.

In 1784, Raffaele de Picciotto, a Jewish Merchant from Livorno Tuscany, was appointed as Imperial Royal Honorary consul in Aleppo. He was the first of the longest serving family to act as consuls to the Emperor, a line which ended over a century later in 1894. De Picciotto was appointed a Knight of the Austrian empire in 1806. Throughout the 19th century, the de Picciotto family also served as representatives in Aleppo of many other states and countries, including Tuscany, Russia, Prussia, Holland, Belgium and the United States. One member of the family, Moise de Picciotto, had a diplomatic uniform for five different countries, as he was consul in Aleppo for Austria, Prussia, Denmark, The Netherlands and Belgium.
 

Prior to the production of Ropen Carabit’s portrait, a certificate of donation dated 25 November 1805, recorded in the de Picciotto family archives, demonstrates that an entourage of eight Arabian horses had been gifted from Raffaele de Picciotto to 'His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty of Austria', Francis I. Raffaele emigrated to Tiberias Israel in 1818, and therefore the repeat of such a generous and impressive gift was likely ordered by Raffaele's son, Elijah, who took over as Austrian consul from his brother Ezra, who had tragically died in the earthquake of Aleppo in 1822. 

Arab horses were a prized possession in Europe and coveted by Imperial stables for use as cavalry mounts and personal steeds for monarchs (memorably, Napoleon Bonaparte rode an Arab stallion called Marengo). Wealthy individuals stationed in Aleppo had access to Arab horses through Bedouin Tribes. As John A Shoup III notes in his book the history of Syria, 'Aleppo was also an important market for Bedouin horses and quickly became a supplier for Europeans wanting to improve European breeds of horses, particularly for cavalry mounts. European consuls paid high prices for Arabian stallions brought in by Bedouins, often fresh from tribal raids'.

As subjects of European monarchs, the consuls held unique positions in Aleppo. They were primarily used by Aleppo factions to communicate with the Ottoman authorities, other local factions as well as the foreign governments they represented. Consuls were exempt from Ottoman taxes and were responsible for providing protection to Austrian citizens. They could also assist 'fellow Aleppans gain the rights of foreign nationals in the Ottoman Empire'. The power and prosperity of the Austrian Consul (also evident in the many debts they were owed) allowed them to obtain 'great consideration for the Jews of the city'. Consuls in Aleppo established a history of providing exotic and rare gifts. In 1668 the French consul sent gazelles, canes and pistachios to Louis XIV's minister, Colbert.
  

Aleppo was a highly influential trading hub at the time, between Iran, Iraq and Europe. Its central location served as the transit point for goods - especially prior to the opening of the Suez Canal. At a crossroads of trade routes, Aleppo was also a natural destination for travellers. A diary from 1863, written by Bayard Taylor, explores the unique society of Aleppo at the time. He suggests that the 'peculiarity in society is evidently a relic of the formal times, when Aleppo was a semi-Venetian city, and the opulent seat of Eastern commerce.' He describes the etiquette and procedure for foreign visitors arriving in Aleppo: 'formerly, when a traveller arrived here, he was expected to call upon the different Consuls, in the order of their established precedence: the Austrian first, English second, French third, etc. After this, he was obliged to stay at home several days, to give the Consuls an opportunity of returning the visits, which they made in the same order. There was a diplomatic importance about all his movements, and the least violation of etiquette, through ignorance or neglect, was the town talk for days.' From his account it would appear that the Aleppan consulates provided 'universal and cordial hospitality'.  

John A Shoup III, The History of Syria, Santa Barbara, 2018, p. 78. 

Philip Mansel, Aleppo, The Rise and Fall of Syria's Great Merchant City, London, 2016, p. 17, 38, 171.

Walter P. Zenner, A global community; The Jews from Aleppo, Syria, Wayne State University Press, 2000, p. 23. 

Charles Issawi, The Fertile Crescent 1800-1914 A Documentary Economic History, Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 138.