Skip Navigation

The Carpet Merchant of Cairo

Jean-Léon Gérôme

European Art

Jean-Léon Gérôme traveled frequently through Egypt and the Ottoman Empire from 1853 onward, collecting photographs, textiles, and other props to use in his Paris studio. Although his detailed rendering of two carpets lends this painting a documentary appearance, Gérôme’s stereotypical portrayal of an Egyptian carpet vendor and brightly costumed passersby reveals his desire to appeal to European fantasies of the Arab-Islamic world. In France, such imagined scenes were interpreted as faithful records of an unchanging “Orient,” helping to justify and obscure the harrowing transformations enacted by European imperialism within North Africa and the Middle East.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
  • Place Made: Europe
  • DATES 1869
    DIMENSIONS 31 7/8 x 22 in. (81 x 55.9 cm)  (show scale)
    SIGNATURE Signed lower left: "J.L. GEROME."
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 74.208
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Joseph Gluck
    PROVENANCE February 1869, acquired from the artist by Goupil & Cie, Paris, France; February 18, 1869, purchased from Goupil & Cie, no. 3937, by Henry Wallis of French Gallery, London, United Kingdom; 1871, purchased from French Gallery by Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Bölckow of Middleborough, United Kingdom; May 2, 1891, purchased at Christie, Manson & Woods, London, Bölckow sale lot 70, by Arthur Tooth and Sons, London; between 1891 and 1903, provenance not yet documented; before 1903, possibly acquired by Henry C. Gibson of Philadelphia, PA; before April 28, 1903, acquired by Irving M. Scott of San Francisco, CA; February 9, 1906, purchased at American Art Galleries, New York, “Old and Modern Masters Collected by the Late Irving M. Scott San Francisco” lot 37, by Arthur Tooth & Sons; between 1906 and 1931, provenance not yet documented; before 1931, possibly acquired by the Sansome Collection; February 4-5, 1931, purchased from an unidentified private collector, possibly Sansome Collection, at American Art Association, New York, lot 62 by Plaza Curiosity Shop, New York; between 1931 and 1939, provenance not yet documented; 1939, purchased at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, sale 114 no. 44 by F. Schnittjer and Son, New York; January 15, 1943, sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, “Property of F. Schnittjer & Son New York” lot. 186; between 1943 and 1974, provenance not yet documented; by 1974, acquired by Kende Galleries, New York; October 9, 1974, purchased from Kende Galleries at Sotheby’s, New York, “19th Century European Paintings” lot 161, by Joseph Gluck of New York; December 30, 1974, gift of Joseph Gluck to the Brooklyn Museum.
    Provenance FAQ
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904). The Carpet Merchant of Cairo, 1869. Oil on canvas, 31 7/8 x 22 in. (81 x 55.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Joseph Gluck, 74.208 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 74.208_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 74.208_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.