Two Harem Women in Conversation (Zwei Haremsdamen im Gespräch)

Paul Herrmann

Munich-born Paul Herrmann also used the pseudonym "Henri Heran." His subject matter tended to be mythological, often dealing with Middle Eastern literature and themes, such as Salome and Scheherazade. One of his themes was life in a harem, such as this intaglio, done around 1915, two elegantly dressed women lounging and chatting.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation states: "In Ottoman palaces, houses and residences, there was a private section called “Harem”. The Arabic word “haram”, pronounced in Turkish can mean “wife” among other things, and is a symbol of “sacredness” and of privacy. At the beginning of the 15th century, a number of foreign visitors to Istanbul described the many facets of the city, providing accounts of the Turks, and especially of the palaces and the harem that the Ottoman rulers called home.

Every family’s harem, where its women lived and where men from outside were not permitted to go, was the very honor of that family, its sacred niche. What we know concerning life in the harem is known only indirectly. Consequently, there is no clear information in the sources about the form of life in these places, which were very private. Foreign diplomats and merchants described palace life during the 17th and 18th centuries.