John Frederick LewisEnglish, 1805–1876Life in the Hareem, Cairo
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Life in the Hareem, Cairo” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Object Type
At first sight Life in the Hareem, Cairo is another `Orientalist' picture with no obvious story. Yet the posy of flowers held in the lap of the main figure is a love letter, in the language of flowers, used in Turkey and Egypt as well as Britain. This was a favourite theme in Lewis's work. The whole scene could be interpreted as a showing a woman about to take coffee with her confidante to discuss the newly arrived love letter and its implicit offer. Then they will read the future in the coffee grounds in the traditional manner (still practised in Cairo), to see how the affair may turn out.
People
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Lewis painted various versions of this theme. He arrived in Egypt in 1841 and lived for nearly a decade as a wealthy Turk in a grand 16th-century house in Cairo. Lewis was obliged to do this, as at that time his neighbours would not have tolerated Western customs in this district of the City. In 1847 he married Marian Harper, who appears as a model in many of his pictures, including this one. In Cairo he lived with his bride like a Turkish Bey, or grandee, in everything except the actual practice of the faith of Islam, so the decorous pictures of Marian in her robes in that splendid house are not really fantasies at all.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 679-1893
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
