Alphons Mielich

Private collection, Germany

The uncradled panel is flat, even, and ensuring a stable support. Ultra-violet light reveals some very finely applied lines of cosmetic retouching in the door and some very small scattered spots including: some spots in the neck and hands of the seated figure, some pinhead-sized spots in the dark cloak of the man to the left and some other very small spots in the background. The picture is otherwise in good condition and ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame. The colours are slightly less red than in the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Mielich's sumptuous compositions of Cairene markets, bazaars and cafés offered contemporary audiences an exotic yet faithful view of Egyptian street life. Standing outside a mosque in the Haret el Yahoud district of the city, with the distinctive moon crescent and star motif and decked in wooden ‘alam finials (used as processional standards), three merchants engage in animated negotiation over a group of Moroccan rugs, Rabat, nineteenth-century, and others including kilims folded and stacked in the background. Hanging to the left of the doorway is a silk appliqué panel, Uzbekistan, nineteenth-century, with stylised geometric motifs and an azure blue ground and deep dark brown border, which reappears in Mielich's pastel, The Discussion, of 1892 (Private collection, Cairo).

Austrian-born Mielich first travelled to Egypt in 1889, and returned on several occasions up until the outbreak of the First World War, and the 'snapshot' verisimilitude of the scene in the present work is testimony to his sensitive understanding of the culture he depicts.  Mielich's views of Cairo won him the admiration and patronage of Kaiser Franz Joseph I, who bought several of his paintings. In 1901, following international success, Mielich was sent by the Austrian Academy of Sciences on a mission to document western Arabia in pictures.