Ramesses in His Harem

In June 1886, in Cairo, the French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero unwrapped the mummy of Ramesses II in front of Egypt's ruler, the Khedive. That same year in Paris, Lecomte du Nouÿ showed the centre of this triptych at a private gallery under a vaguer title, Pharaoh in His Gynaeceum, an old word for the women's quarters. By the Salon of 1887 it was called Ramesses in His Harem. The king sits at a low table over a board game, chin in hand, while a nude young woman kneels opposite him. Musicians play in the left panel, a dancer lifts a pink veil in the right, and a winged sun disc spreads above the centre. The painting later passed through private collections, among them that of Charles de Pauw in Brussels, and the Musée d'Orsay bought it at Sotheby's in Paris in October 2015.