Years before his 1832 trip to North Africa, Delacroix developed an interest in depicting objects from Islamic cultures. He discovered examples to study and copy among the miniatures, coins, and manuscripts in the royal library and works on view at the Louvre. Delacroix also owned a copy made by his friend Géricault after a Persian miniature (Bazin 2635). The original that served as the basis for this scene has yet to be identified.
Signed in pen and brown ink at lower right: "Eug Delacroix".
Perls, Hugo, former owner.
Wetmore, Edith, former owner.
Thaw, Eugene Victor, former owner.
Thaw, Clare, former owner.
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection", 2017. Exh. cat., no. 92, repr.
Stampfle, Felice, and Cara D. Denison. Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene V. Thaw. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975, no. 80.