When he visited in 1838, William James Muller was one of the first British artists to reach Egypt, then under control of the Ottoman Empire governed by Muhammad Ali Pasha. Muller made sketches of the local landscape and its people, including a series of sketches in the slave market in Cairo. He noted: “The market is held in an open court . . . In the centre of this court the slaves are exposed for sale, and in general to the number of from thirty to forty . . . The scene is of a revolting nature.” This is one of the sketches he then used to produce large orientalist paintings, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy and British Institution. The African man pictured here wears a slave collar and carries a tool to harvest dates from palm trees. Though Muller is unlikely to have been free from the color prejudice typical of his time, his sympathy for the enslaved man is reflected in the noble bearing he has given him despite his servitude. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2021
