A crowned, bearded man sits facing us on a throne, and he holds a sword and orb in this vertical drawing, which was made using black ink on parchment-colored paper. A three-peaked, jeweled crown nestles in a twisted turban on the man’s head. He faces us but his eyes look to our right, and he has a long, hooked nose and flowing hair and beard. A band of ornate jewels could be a collar resting over his shoulders and on his chest, or it could be that the edge of his robe is elaborately decorated. His robe has voluminous, flowing long sleeves and his garment is decorated with bands of jewels and fringe at the shoulders, hem, and down the front. His left hand, on our right, rests on a round orb about the size of an orange, and he holds the hilt of a jewel-encrusted sword upright with his other hand so the tip of the sword rests on the ground. The artist signed the work with his initials at the bottom center: “AD.”
Read the visual description

A crowned, bearded man sits facing us on a throne, and he holds a sword and orb in this vertical drawing, which was made using black ink on parchment-colored paper. A three-peaked, jeweled crown nestles in a twisted turban on the man’s head. He faces us but his eyes look to our right, and he has a long, hooked nose and flowing hair and beard. A band of ornate jewels could be a collar resting over his shoulders and on his chest, or it could be that the edge of his robe is elaborately decorated. His robe has voluminous, flowing long sleeves and his garment is decorated with bands of jewels and fringe at the shoulders, hem, and down the front. His left hand, on our right, rests on a round orb about the size of an orange, and he holds the hilt of a jewel-encrusted sword upright with his other hand so the tip of the sword rests on the ground. The artist signed the work with his initials at the bottom center: “AD.”

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

An Eastern Ruler Seated on His Throne

Albrecht Dürer

Date
c. 1495
Medium
pen and black ink on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 30.6 x 19.7 cm (12 1/16 x 7 3/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1972.22.1.a
Credit line
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Time span
1401 to 1500
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • German
  • male
  • figure
  • Seated figure
  • Renaissance
Provenance

William Young Ottley [1771-1836], London; Sir Thomas Lawrence [1769-1830], London, (Lugt 2445); S.G. Liesching, Stuttgart; Count Adolphe-Narcisse Thibeaudeau [1795-1856], Paris; (sale Paris, 20-25 April 1857, 268); private collection, United States; purchased privately (via Robert Light) by NGA, 1972.

Inscription

inscribed (by another early hand?) in pen and black ink with Durer's monogram, partially cut; verso inscribed in graphite "Collection/du Comte Thibaudiau/Cat. No. 268).

NGA object ID 53157. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.