To be a king in the Divan: The Turquerie and self-representation of the Swedish King Gustav III (1771-1792)

This thesis examines the self-representation efforts of Swedish King Gustav III through the Turkish Divans and the Turkish Kiosk he had constructed. Turquerie, or the Turkish fashion, which rose to prominence in eighteenth-century Europe, was perceived at the time as a symbol of power and was thus employed within the context of self-representation by political figures who were either inherently weak or deliberately undermined in terms of political authority. The architectural works commissioned by King Gustav III in the eighteenth century that incorporated Turkish imagery are analyzed within the context of the cultural and political developments of the period, and through these constructions, the design of his royal identity is explored. In this regard, Gustav III's political situation, the cultural and political rapprochement between Sweden and the Ottoman Empire against their common enemy Russia, and the motives that drove Gustav III to create a self-representation are all evaluated.