Painted around 1890 to 1891 during John Singer Sargent's travels in Egypt — undertaken partly as research for his Boston Public Library murals on the history of religion — this work depicts figures at work with a shaduf, a traditional device used to raise irrigation water from the Nile. Sargent brought the same close attention to light, gesture, and everyday labor that defined his portraits to this scene of riverside life. The painting is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Jacquard-woven as a soft, double-sided tapestry throw with fringed edges — a warm layer for the sofa or bed.
