PAUL JOANOWITCH | THE RESTING SENTINEL

Ernest T. H. Bennet, London

Purchased by the family of the present owner in late 1940s; thence by descent

Bashi-bazouks were irregulars in the Ottoman army and hailed from lands across the Ottoman empire, from Egypt to the Balkans. The strain on the Ottoman feudal system caused by the Empire's wide expanse required heavier reliance on irregular soldiers. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and did not wear uniforms or distinctive badges. Because not formally trained, they could not serve in major military operations, but were useful for other tasks such as reconnaissance and outpost duty. Here, a guard, wearing a fez and the white pleated kilt worn by the bashi-bazouks, sits outside a coffee shop in Cairo smoking an Ottoman chibouk pipe and enjoying a cup of coffee. 

Joanowitch studied at the Vienna Academy under Karl Leopold Müller. His patrons included King Alexander of Serbia. He exhibited in Vienna, Munich, and Berlin, where his meticulously observed Montenegrin and Albanian subjects, particularly of warriors and bashi-bazouks, met with international acclaim, prized by English and American collectors alike.