A Queen of Egypt

Continuing my leisurely read of reference 1, I came across an interesting footnote this morning, reproduced above, from the bottom of page 160 in my copy.

In the Storr's version we have a child slave of Turkish origin, who became the concubine then the favourite wife of the Sultan of Egypt, this being in the first half of the 13th century, that is to say about the time when our Edward III was winning the battle of Crécy and leaving his son, the Black Prince, to win the battle of Poitiers.

In the first instance, she made the pilgrimage to Mecca, a duty on all Muslims who have means and opportunity. In the second instance she sent a rather grand empty litter (on top of a camel) instead. This became an annual custom, in Storrs' day the responsibility of one of the Egyptian ministries. I associate to the custom in western Europe of rich people sending their empty carriages to funerals, an honour to the funeral rating only slightly below the rich person actually being in the carriage. Getting out being particularly exceptional.

According to Wikipedia (reference 2), it became the custom for all the Muslim rulers to send such a litter, a Mahmal, the custom only coming to an end quite recently. No doubt there was an element of competition about all this. And seemingly quite a show for the people of Mecca, from where I associate to our own Lord Mayor's Show in London. While the image above is of the litter returning to Cairo afterwards.

Google Image tracked it down to an engraving in the Khalili Collection, where I get: 'The Return of the Mahmal from Mecca to Cairo', Germany, 1893, wood engraving 34.5 x 52.5cm after an oil painting by Konstantin Makowsky, 1876. Makowsky appears to be in the same league as some of our Victorian painters, being keen on colourful peasant scenes and pornography lite. But the wood engraving is a striking example of what could be and was done in wood at the close of the nineteenth century: it makes some of the work of our own Dalziel brothers offered at reference 6 look a bit crude. Not that there are many people about today who could do any of it. Not enough call.

The Bulgarian martyresses.

The judgement of Paris.

Also according to Wikipedia (reference 3), the lady in question became de-facto ruler of Egypt for some years - a reminder that not all Muslim countries believe in domesticating ladies indoors. Quite successful for a while, but ended up being executed in a rather grisly fashion, a near Eastern custom which has survived more or less to this day. Perhaps Makowsky did the painting.

References

Reference 1: Orientations - Sir Ronald Storrs - 1937.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmal.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shajar_al-Durr.

Reference 4: https://www.khalilicollections.org/. For plenty more Mahmals.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Makovsky.

Reference 6: The Brothers Dalziel: A record of fifty year's work in conjunction with many of the most distinguished artists of the period 1840-1890. With selected pictures by, and autograph letters from... - Methuen - 1901.

Reference 7: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/08/gill.html. The only prior mention of Dalziel, a thin one at that. But it does provide some context.