Catalog Archive
Auction 190, Lot 648

"Entrance to the Caves of Beni Hassan", Roberts, David

Subject: Beni Hasan, Egypt

Period: 1848 (circa)

Publication: The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia

Color: Hand Color

Size:
9.9 x 11.6 inches
25.1 x 29.5 cm
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David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864) was one of the first Europeans to depict the Middle East. Considered a dangerous and barbaric land, it was not until the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt after 1798 that any serious study had been done into the Pharoic culture. Sir Richard Burton's infamous penetration of Mecca did not occur until 1858, twenty years after Roberts painted the wonders of the Moslem world and the Holy Land. The sketchbooks from Roberts' journeys were one of the most popular publications of its time, allowing Victorian Europeans a peek into the exotic world from the comfort of their parlors.

This attractive lithograph depicts the ancient Egyptian cemetery of Beni Hasan with a herd of goats in the foreground. Produced in the tinted lithograph process and finished by hand with watercolor. English text below and on verso. Published by F.G. Moon in London, with the full sheet measuring 16.8 x 24.0".

References:

Condition: A

Minor marginal toning and soiling.

Estimate: $200 - $230

Sold for: $90

Closed on 11/16/2022

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