A Slave Market in Cairo (after William James Müller)
possibly Frances Parker, Countess of Morley (Wymondham 1782 - ?Saltram 1857)
Category
Art / Drawings and watercolours
Date
1830 - 1857
Materials
Paper, watercolour paint, plaster and glass
Measurements
288 x 400 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 871243.1
Summary
Watercolour on paper, The Slave Market in Cairo (after William James Müller) possibly by Frances Talbot, Countess of Morley (Wymondham 1782 - ?Saltram 1857) or a copy by William James Müller (Bristol 1812 – Bristol 1845) . The original watercolour is in the Bury Art Museum, Bury. Müller travelled widely in Europe and the Middle Wast. Arriving in Cairo in 1838 he was captivated by the bazaars and markets wrote in his 'Artist's Tour of Egypt' (Art-Union, September 1839) that the slave market was 'one of my most favourite haunts.' He spent many hours sketching the enslaved people brought before prospective buyers, often being mistaken for a buyer himself. He wrrote: 'The market is held in an open court, surrounded with arches of Roman character. In the centre of this court the slaves are exposed for sale, and in general to the number of thirty to forty... the scene is of a revolting nature, yet I did not see, as I expected, the dejection and sorrow I was led to imagine....' Following his return to England in 1839, Müller exhibited a number of different paintings of 'The Slave Market' at the Royal Academy and British Institution.
Provenance
At Saltram by 1957 and given to NT by Montagu Brownlow Parker (1878-1962), 5th Earl of Morley as part of the Endowment
Makers and roles
possibly Frances Parker, Countess of Morley (Wymondham 1782 - ?Saltram 1857), artist after William James Müller (Bristol 1812 – Bristol 1845), original artist possibly William James Muller (1812-1845), artist