This set of ten 18th Century topographical views are some of the works painted by the pre-Orientalist German/ Italian artist Luigi Mayer while he was in the employment of Sir Robert Ainslie. Ainslie was Britain's Ambassador at Constantinople between 1776-94, and his official business was primarily to further British trading interests, represented by the Levant Company, who paid his salary, and to maintain peace in the region. In his own time he dedicated himself to research and collecting. Known for his passion for Antiquity, numismatics, natural history, and the lifestyle of the East, the ambassador created an important collection of Ottoman and Byzantine works of art, and an extensive collection of coins from Eastern Europe, Asia Minor and Northern Africa.

Unlike some of his predecessors, Ainslie embraced the local customs in his life in Constantinople. In his home, garden and at his table, he adopted the life style and manners of the rich Muslims, in short, he lived a Turkish life, which endeared him to travellers and locals alike. His home was a meeting point for the European travellers, whether on the Oriental Grand Tour or not, generously hosted as they passed through Constantinople. As a meeting point between East and West, the Levant has been the traditional place of the exchange of goods between the two economies. In the late 18th century, some English travellers, discouraged by war in Europe, ventured further East instead of taking the classic Grand Tour; it was the beginning of the era of travelling for knowledge into the Levant.

Early in his career Luigi Mayer worked in Sicily for Ferdinand IV, King of Naples and the Two Sicilies, painting views of classical ruins and also worked for Prince of Biscari. Ainslie was appointed ambassador in 1776 and may have met Mayer in Sicily en route to Constantinople. Brian Taylor (op. cit.) has written extensively about the relationship between Ainslie and Mayer. He explains Ainslie paid Mayer an annual stipend of around 50 guineas, exclusive of Lodgings, Board, Washing, and all Travelling expense, to be incurred in Ainslie's service. Furthermore it is clearly understood that the whole of his Works, Drawings, Pictures and Sketches were to remain with me [Ainslie}, as being my sole property.

Ainslie travelled himself, but was also content to send Mayer on various trips without him to record the principal sights of the Ottoman Empire. Of the group of works offered here, three were painted when Ainslie travelled with the artist in Bulgaria in 1792 and including a painting showing the extent of his retinue; a long caravan of horses and carriages while another shows The Ambassador himself in his carriage. The other seven views in the group show various sites of interest in Egypt during travels the Mayer embarked at the behest of his patron rather than with him.

In general the works produced by Luigi Mayer for Sir Robert Ainslie represent some of the earliest depictions of the sites of historic interest and importance of the Oriental Grand Tour, and at the time, as noted by Brian Taylor, provided the British public with some of their first impressions of the landscapes and peoples of the diverse Ottoman Empire before the fashion for Orientalist painting emerged in the 19th Century. Also, as Anda-Lucia Spanu notes (op.cit.) when the collection of works were rediscovered in 2009 the paintings had never been displayed, but kept in the portfolio: they were so fresh at the time of sale that they just seemed to come out from under the painter’s brush.

Other paintings by Luigi Mayer for Sir Robert Ainslie are held at the British Museum, The Victoria & Albert Museum, H..M. Government Art Collection, The Rijksmuseum and Princeton University Museum.