Later Stuart Portraits Catalogue

Sir John Chardin (1643-1712), Diamond merchant and travel writer

Merchant adventurer and orientalist; b. Paris, a Huguenot, son of a merchant-jeweller; travelled extensively in Persia 1665, 1669 and 1673-77 and in India 1667, spending four years trading successfully in Isfahan; published Le couronnement de Soleiman Troisième 1671; first came to London 1679, settling in 1681; jeweller to Charles II; Kt. 1681, FRS 1682; published Travels in Persia, in French and English, 1686; his later years devoted to oriental studies.


This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.