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PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

THE GUARD OF THE HAREM

61 by 48cm., 24 by 19in.

signed R. Ernst l.r.

oil on panel

PROVENANCE

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 6 March 1974, lot 155
Vaughan Murray (purchased at the above sale)

NOTE

The word harem comes from the Arabic for 'forbidden'. Situated in the Topkapi Palace in Constantinople, it was the residence of the Sultan's wives, concubines, and children, who were guarded by black slave eunuchs under the command of the Master of the Harem. The women of the harem, known as cariyes, were gathered from the furthest corners of the Ottoman Empire and beyond, and groomed for the purpose. The girls would be meticulously prepared for their office, being taught etiquette, religion, sociability, morality, and music.

Since the Sultan and his sons were the only men allowed access to the harem, westerners could only imagine what went on behind its walls. Like many of Ernst's works, The Guard of the Harem is the product of assiduous research but also of poetic licence. While Ernst did travel to Turkey and the middle east, it was to observe, make sketches, and collect the many props, including tiles, carpets, swords, and costumes, he used for his finished paintings. These he worked up in his Paris studio, in which he would paint wearing a taboosh, the better to immerse himself in his subjects.