Alexandre Bida was a painter, draughtsman, book illustrator and lithographer. He was a pupil of Eugene Delacroix and exhibited Turkish, Egyptian and biblical subjects at the Salon in Paris from 1847 to 1894. He travelled extensively in the Middle East and in 1851 published a book with E. Barbot on 'Souvenirs d'Egypte' from which this print comes.

For many western artists the people of the Middle East were a potent source of inspiration. The enormous range of different racial types, customs and costumes found throughout the region is reflected in the diversity of western artists' images. These fluctuated widely in their accuracy, some being founded on direct observation, some being based on other artists' images or on hearsay. Western artists' portrayals of Middle Eastern and Asian people had a number of different purposes: some were primarily costume figures; some were potraits of identified individuals; some were shown engaged in a particular activity or displaying a local custom; some were seen participating in a specific event and some were deliberate fantasies. This image however, drawn by Bida himself, is probably based on studies he made during his visit to the Middle East. It is inscribed with the title 'A Fellah Woman of Cairo' in French, Arabic and English and shows her standing in front two fragments of capitals from an Egyptian temple.