The Doubtful Coin

Western visitors to Cairo in the nineteenth century were enthralled by the teeming population and busy scenes of trade that characterised the city streets and bazaars. Lewis had begun painting Cairo’s streets from the mid 1850’s and painted The Seraff – The Doubtful Coin in 1869. This was the first of a series of narrative paintings that Lewis completed towards the latter part of his life, focussing on a particular event taking place in the narrow streets of the Cairo bazaar. The Doubtful coin depicts a dispute in the market place surrounding a transaction taking place, the women appeal to the Seraff – a money lender to make a judgement. Fake coinery was a real concern in Cairo at this time. Unusually in Lewis’s outdoor scenes, the women play a central role in the narrative as equal bartering partners with the men.
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.