Finally Clear What Ottomans Are Doing in Het Loo: 'Political Masterpiece'

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They look down graciously on the visitors of Het Loo Palace: seven painted figures in Ottoman attire on the walls of the grand staircase. For a long time, it was unknown why King-Stadholder William III (1650-1702) had specifically chosen them when furnishing his palace in the late seventeenth century, but a new exhibition reveals an ancient political significance. "It is actually a political masterpiece," says art historian Razvan-Iulian Rusu, w…