[Lithograph 4]
EGYPTIAN LADY IN THE HAREM. CAIRO
Harem was a private place of the house of Muslims, which was forbidden for male strangers, i.e., only family members and women were allowed here, and hence, it remains a mystery as to how the artist managed to enter this place to paint this portrait. The lady in this lithograph wears a shintiyān (trousers), a yelek that reaches the ground, and a jacket called a salṭa. She wears a ṭarḥa (veil) on her head and lets it throw behind. From her clothes, it appears that the season was winter. The shīsha (water pipe) on the right of the lithograph is not for decoration; rather, these ladies enjoyed smoking while they lay on their dīwān (couch).
|
|
