The Pipe Bearer

Lewis was one of the best known Victorian Orientalist artists who were fascinated by Far Eastern culture. Having travelled to Cairo in 1841, Lewis married and spent the next ten years of his living in the city. The Pipe Bearer, depicts life in the Harem. During his years in Cairo years it is said that Lewis gathered almost 600 pieces of work which he later relied upon as inspiration for the next 25 years of his life. Much of this work was to make him amongst the most highly praised artists of the mid-Victorian era. John Ruskin said; ‘There never, perhaps, in the history of art was work so wholly independent. He worked with the sternest precision.’
On returning to England, Lewis brought with him a huge collection of items and samples of Eastern dress of which to work from in his studio. His interest in the customs and costumes of the East demonstrates his determination to portray them with exactness.