Painted in 1892 during Lavery’s second visit to Tangier, the present oil sketch relates to his major project for that particular Moroccan expedition. During the previous year Lavery had noted the sound of music and laughter emanating from the flat rooftops of the Kasbah. From his hotel window he could see that these functioned as areas for recreation as Arab families gathered in the cool of the evening, to talk, sip coffee and pluck the strings of an oud that, along with pipes and drums, would accompany the dancers. The large resulting canvas, A Moorish Dance, was shown at the Royal Academy in 1893. Many of these studies were painted in clandestine circumstances, as unveiled Moorish inhabitants of the city were strictly forbidden from posing for visiting artists. In October 1893 they were brought together – fifty in all - for an exhibition at Thomas Lawrie’s Gallery in Glasgow.

Professor Kenneth McConkey.