This watercolour is a sympathetic portrayal of a blind Egyptian man seated and holding his madrab, a device for preparing wool and cotton fibres for spinning. Although the men and boys conversing in the background heighten the evocation of an oriental scene, their conviviality also creates a poignant contrast to the lone and silent figure of the blind craftsman, isolated in a world of his own. Of Swedish origin, Lundgren spent most of his working life abroad. He lived at various times in Italy, Spain and England, and also visited India (with Lord Clyde, 1858-59) and Egypt (1861-62). These two trips to the East supplied him with material for many of his subsequent watercolour paintings. He exhibited these frequently at the Old Water-Colour Society in London between 1862 and 1875.