An Egyptian courier

Details

Willem de Famars Testas (Dutch, 1834-1896)
An Egyptian courier
signed 'WTestas.'(lower left) and inscribed 'Saïs un palefrenier coureur Egyptien' on the reverse
pencil and watercolour on paper, unframed
16 x 21.5 cm.

Special notice

Christie's charge a buyer's premium of 20.825% of the hammer price for lots with values up to NLG 200,000. If the hammer price exceeds the NLG 200,000 then the premium is calculated at 20.825% of the first NLG 200,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of NLG 200,000.

Lot Essay

The present lot depicts a so-called 'Saïs', an arabic term for a messenger boy or a groom who cleared the way for their masters.
Please compare the present lot with a watercolour of a comparable subject-matter in the collection of the Teylers Museum, Haarlem.
(M.J. Raven,Willem de Famars Testas-Reisschetsen uit Egypte 1858-1860,'s-Gravenhage 1988, p. 184, ill.)

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