Outside the Hammam

The hammam, or steam bath, occupied a position of fundamental importance in the 19th Century Muslim city and provided a central and often sociable area in which to perform the ritual of daily ablution. The present work depicts patrons of the hammam relaxing outside in the alley after these ablutions. In the foreground one can see the stol-el-hammam, the copper bucket in which were placed the traditional hammam objects; the tasa, a bowl used to ladle water (see lots 96 and 97, which are silver versions as opposed to the copper one depicted in the present work), the taffala, the box of fuller's earth and the fellaya, a fine-toothed, tortoise shell comb.