David Roberts, RA (British, 1796-1864)
Approach to Mount Sinai
inscribed and dated 'Mount Sinai, Feb 17th 1839 / Wady Barah' (lower left); signed and dated 'David Roberts 1839' (lower right); bears Agnew's exhibition label (verso)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
24 x 34.2cm (9 7/16 x 13 7/16in).
inscribed and dated 'Mount Sinai, Feb 17th 1839 / Wady Barah' (lower left); signed and dated 'David Roberts 1839' (lower right); bears Agnew's exhibition label (verso)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
24 x 34.2cm (9 7/16 x 13 7/16in).
Estimate:
£25,000 - 35,000
€29,000 - 41,000
US$ 39,000 - 55,000
€29,000 - 41,000
US$ 39,000 - 55,000
Footnotes
- Roberts made this watercolour on his travels through Sinai in February 1839. On his return home, he worked up another version of the view (now at Bowood House, Calne, Wiltshire) for the lithographer, Louis Haghe. This was published with the title Approach to Mount Sinai. Wady Barah', as Plate 122 in Volume III of the series of two hundred and forty seven lithographs that comprised 'The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia', issued between 1842 and 1849.
Roberts toured Egypt, Sinai, Palestine and Syria in 1838 and 1839. In his journal (now in the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh) Roberts described the valleys through which he and his party passed between Suez and the Convent of St Catherine. On 17th February he wrote: 'Ascending to the top of the narrow valley in which we had encamped, Mount Sinai burst upon our views in all its grandeur, and here we met for the first time with an Arab encampment, surrounded by flocks of sheep and goats'.
We are grateful to Briony Llewellyn for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.
Category: Fine Art / Israeli Art and Judaic Art
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