Name of Object:

The Coffee Shop of Cairo

Location:

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)

Holding Institution:

Sharjah Art Museum / Sharjah Museums Department

 About Sharjah Museums Authority, Sharjah

Date of Object:

Published in 1849

Author:

David Roberts; Louis Hague (David Roberts: 24/10/1796; Louis Hague: 17/3/1806, David Roberts: Edinburgh, Scotland; Louis Hague: Tournai, Belgium-David Roberts: 25/11/1864; Louis Hague: 9/3/1885, David Roberts: London; Louis Hague: London)

Inventory Number:

SM2006-357

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Lithograph

Dimensions:

391 mm x 345 mm

Provenance:

London

Description:

This colourful print depicts a typical 19th century coffeeshop in Cairo. An exclusively male domain, its design was characterised by an open front and wide benches for seating, to allow for easy congregation and the gathering of friends and acquainances. Not only in Cairo, which had over a thousands coffeehouses in Roberts's time, but all over the Middle East, coffeehouses were important social hubs for the exchange of news, entertainment, smoking (customers brought their own pipes and waterpipes) and - not rarely - political dissent. Musicians and storytellers often enhanced the experience further. In this image, the proprietor or an employee of the cafe can be seen serving a beverage in the centre. Interestingly, both the ewer and the large copper cup he uses are of a type usually associated with water, not coffee. Perhaps Roberts introduced these items for artistic effect.

Type of Object

Lithograph

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike al-Khamis "The Coffee Shop of Cairo" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;ua;33;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis

MWNF Working Number: UA 034