The exhibition opens with an anonymous painting in which 16th-century Venetian diplomats, identifiable only by their simple dress in comparison with the rich garb of the locals, are being presented to a Mamluk leader.
The painting, dated to around 1637, shows Princess Mary at the age of five or six, wearing a rich silver-laced gown and pearl head-dress, standing before a classical column and ornate gold damask curtain.