Exhibition labels & didactics - National Gallery of Victoria

Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de MONTABERT
French 1775–1848
The Mameluke Raza Roustam (1780–1845)
Le mamelouk Raza Roustam) (1780–1845)
1806
oil on canvas
Musée de l’Armée, Paris
Gift of Mr. Pierre-Albert Beaufeu, 1900 inv. 3659; Ea 62
Born in Georgia of Armenian parents,
Roustam was kidnapped and sold into slavery
at the age of thirteen, becoming part of the
formidable Mameluke caste who ruled Egypt.
Gifted to General Napoleon in 1799 by the
sheikh of Cairo, Roustam accompanied him
back to France. There he served as
major-domo and bodyguard to the future
First Consul and Emperor, until Napoleon’s
first exile in 1814. He is depicted assuredly
at the centre of the Imperial household attired
in the exotic garb of the Mamelukes.
© COPYRIGHT
This document remains the property of the National Gallery of Victoria and must be returned upon request. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without written authorisation.
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