Temple of Kalabashi, Egypt: David Roberts ' 19th C. Hand-Colored Lithograph, 1847

Description

This is an original 19th century hand-colored lithograph entitled "Portico of the Temple of Kalabashi" by David Roberts, from his … more This is an original 19th century hand-colored lithograph entitled "Portico of the Temple of Kalabashi" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, published in London by F. G. Moon in 1847. The lithographs were prepared by Louis Haghe (1806-1885) from drawings and paintings by Roberts. The resultant large folio editions of 'The Holy Land' and 'Egypt & Nubia' are considered the greatest lithographically illustrated works issued in the 19th century.
The print depicts a view of the magnificent ruins of the Temple of Kalabashi (also know as Kalabasha and Temple of Mandulis) in Egypt, along the West Bank of the Nile, south of Aswan. It was originally built around 30 BC, during the reign of Augustus Caesar (also known as Octavian), the first Roman emperor, who is responsible for converting Rome from a republic to an empire. The temple was a tribute to Manduli, a Nubian sun god. In modern times, similar to the project that relocated Abu Simple, the temple of Kalabsha was relocated after the Aswan High Dam was built, to protect it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
A group of Egyptian men, dressed in their colorful native garb are seen in conversation to the left of the main portion of the structure. On the far left, two additional men are standing atop an elevated stone slab, somewhat precariously supported by a single column. Fragments of blocks and portions of columns lie in the foreground.
The lithograph is signed in plate in the lower left, along with the lithographer and the title is in the lower right. These are reportedly in Roberts' own hand written script, as it appeared on the original sketch.
This striking hand-colored lithograph print is printed on wove paper with wide margins. The sheet measures 17" high and 23.75" wide. There are small, very faint faint spots in the upper portion of the right margin, but the print is otherwise in very good condition.
The drawings and watercolours from Roberts' tour of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven year period by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. Louis Haghe (the Belgian engraver and friend of Roberts) worked on all of the lithographs for this series. less