Boston-born Charles Sprague Pearce belonged to the generation of American artists who increasingly settled in France in the post-Civil War years. Like that of his celebrated Parisian teacher, Leon Bonnat, Pearce explored a range of subjects throughout his successful expatriate career. A four-month excursion along the Nile in the early 1870s led to a particular interest in "exotic," or Orientalist themes, such as this ambitious portrayal of a native craftsman.