A seated and turbaned musician playing a spike fiddle, seen from behind, a study for The Sword Dance

A rebab is a bowed string instrument that spread widely across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia via Islamic trade routes from the 8th century onward. The musician in the study plays a spike fiddle variant, which, as the name suggests, features a projecting spike at its base, allowing the instrument to rest on the ground for support. It typically consists of a small, rounded or oval body and a long neck. Though appreciated for its voice-like tone, the rebab has a limited range of just over an octave, and over time it was supplanted in many regions by the violin and the kemenche.

The drawing is delicately constructed, with fine contour lines used to define the folds of the garment and the angles of the limbs. Gérôme renders the anatomy and pose with economy and clarity, focusing on the play of line and proportion rather than shading or detail. The result is a poised and quietly expressive study of a figure in concentration.