Theodoros Ralli

The present work was offered by Ralli as a token of friendship to Chakour Pasha, the General Director of the Municipality of Alexandria. The work had originally been commissioned by Nubar Pasha (1825-1899), an Armenian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Egypt from 1878-1879.

Ralli's portrait depicts Nubar Pasha in a rich interior, flanked by a statue of a pharaoh with the solar disc of Ra and horns of Hathor, an ancient Egyptian cow-deity. Ralli was not pleased with the pasha's hands in this painting, and asked Chakour Pasha to pose for replacement hands. Nubar Pasha then refused the altered portrait and Ralli affectionately dedicated the painting to his friend Chakour Pacha 'A friend's hand – for the hands of [his] highness.'

Joseph Chakour occupied his post of General Director between 1892 and 1903, following the British creation of the Alexandrine municipality. As compensation to the signatories of the Convention of London, Lord Cromer (the British Consul in Egypt) encouraged the Egyptian government to instate a Municipal Commission in Alexandria. Lord Cromer, Nubar Pasha and Khedive Tewfik (the reigning monarch of Egypt) appointed Joseph Chakour general director and he was officially voted into office by the Council of Ministers in 1892.

On the occasion of Chakour Pasha's appointment, the Nubar Pasha sent warm wishes: 'I very sincerely congratulate you. You will occupy a post that is not completely equivalent to a Vice Secretary of State, but that is definitely superior to presidency of the Council.' During his eleven years in office, Chakour brought about many improvements in Alexandria, namely the enlargement of the Eastern port, the installation of filters in city abattoirs, the creation of the tramways and several municipal parks as well as the initial planning for the Corniche (Alexandria's harbour-front promenade).