The pictorial ground is a thin, cream-coloured sheet, probably made of early plastic (not ivory). A local artist painted the head of a bearded man on this in black: the nose and eyes consist of three seated female figures. The man’s hair and beard consist of a whole herd of various sheep and goat figures. The eyebrows and moustache are each composed of two dark-haired sheepdogs and the one ear that is visible is made of a pheasant with long tail feathers. An extremely accomplished picture puzzle.
The original portrait is signed in Arabic script at the bottom left, and is encased within a delicately painted frame made of blue, white, green and light brown oriental ornaments (the metal frame with glass is European and was added later). The pictorial ground unfortunately has a later hairline fracture through the centre of the image.
Dimensions: 13.2 cm x 9 cm. First half of the 20th century.

Provenance: According to the consignor, this painting belonged to her late husband. He was deployed in North Africa as a soldier during the Second World War. For the help he provided during a case of illness, an Arabic family there gave him this picture as a thank-you present, which he then took home. Since then, it has been in the possession of an Austrian family. (ME)