A MORROCAN INSPIRED PAINTED PINE BUREAU BOOKCASELATE 19TH CENTURY AND LATER212cm high x 105cm wide x 61cm deepProvenance:Purchased from the Collection of James McBey (1883 -1959)James McBey was a Scottish-born and largely self-taught artist and etcher whose prints were highly valued during the later stages of the etching revival in the early 20th century. In 1912 he travelled to Morocco and began to work in water colours this tour would open his eyes to the magic of Tangier that many since have been drawn to. McBey's poor eyesight prevented him enlisting as a soldier in World War One but in February 1916 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant while employed with the Army Printing and Stationery Service. Due to his success as a semi-professional artist during this time he was then appointed an official war artist to the Egyptian expeditionary force. During the post-war print boom in the 1920s his etchings fetched prices at auction that had only been achieved before by the Old Masters. In 1929 McBey visited America and returned in 1931 to marry Marguerite Loeb, a photographer from Philadelphia. In 1932 the couple bought a house on the Old Mountain near Tangier in Morocco, only a short distance from Tessa Wheeler's Grandfather, Jack Sinclair. They later bought a second property in Marrakesh, where the present lot was bought and brought back to their house in Tangier.