The Arrival of the Mahmal

Location: Pera, Turkey

Materials: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 80 x 101cm

Accession Number: MSS 1356

Script:

The painting is after is after Konstantin Makovsky’s 1876 work, ‘The Arrival of the Holy Carpet in Cairo’ (during this period the mahmal was often referred to as ‘the holy carpet’, or ‘le tapis sacré’ in French). It is not clear whether de Mango had seen Makovsky’s work or if he had access to the original photograph from which the painting was made. However, we do know that de Mango spent time in Cairo and was greatly inspired by life in the Middle East. An engraving of Makovsky’s work by R. Brendamour also appeared in a German periodical of 1893, and de Mango may have been aware of that version as well.