Preview
Creation Date
1838
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
8.5 x 11.5, 14.5 x 17.5 (in frame)
Credit Line
Long-term Loan from the Estate of Boris Blick, 2015
Accession Number
2015.38
Provenance
Egypt & Nubia / from drawings made on the spot by David Roberts ... ; lithographed by Louis Haghe (1806-1885). London : F.G. Moon, 1846-1849 FROM: Wilkinson's Egypt and Thebes
Creator Biography
David Roberts R.A., British, born in Stockbridge, near Edinburgh, Scotland, 1796-1864.
Description
In this lithograph, David Roberts depicts the obelisks he saw at Alexandria. The obelisk in the foreground was taken by the British to London through a harrowing sea journey, where the crew had to abandon ship. Later, sailors found the ship, with the obelisk completely undamaged, and it was successfully brought to its intended home. The obelisk in the background was also removed, and is now located in Central Park. Professor Blick collected with a historian’s eye, and this image depicts a beautiful, unaltered moment in history. The scene displays the Middle East in a period of peace that existed before conquering empires altered the face of the landscape forever.