Lot Essay
Fanny Hering quotes the Athenaeum's account of the painting upon its exhibition in London in 1872: 'A gaunt, sun-dried old Nubian camel-driver, clad in white, and girt with a rude sword grasps the halter of his patient waiting beast and, because he is irate beyond other modes of expression, dashes his goad on the stones of the street. He grins like an angry tiger because two Cairene men, one of whom is a descendant of the Prophet, have, as he thinks, tried to cheat him. They remonstrate with different and marvelously expressive action, and all three seem to be speaking at once. Through the archway we have a glimpse of a narrow street, with veiled figures lingering in the shade - of balconies and windows and far-off sunlight. The camel, like the human figures, is admirably drawn; the tones of the picture are richer than usual, and the effect is more than commonly happy'.
Ackerman states that this, one of the last of Gérôme's miniatures is 'a marvellous work' (op. cit., p. 232).
Ackerman states that this, one of the last of Gérôme's miniatures is 'a marvellous work' (op. cit., p. 232).