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An Ancient Obelisk At Matarea, Formerly Heliopolis

Watercolour
1792 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Watercolour drawing


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleAn Ancient Obelisk At Matarea, Formerly Heliopolis (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour, on laid paper
Brief description
Watercolour, An Ancient Obelisk At Matarea, Formerly Heliopolis, 1792, by Luigi Mayer
Physical description
Watercolour drawing
Dimensions
  • Height: 19.3cm
  • Width: 29.6cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
J H & Z (paper watermarked)
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A
Historical context
Mayer visited Egypt and Syria in 1792: see Anon, Some account of a Tour from Rome to Sicily..., 1791-2, MSS Eng. Misc. C.433-34, Bodleian Library, Oxford. This may be an on-the-spot drawing. It is related to the scene engraved in Mayer, Egypt, 1801[-04], Pl.13, aquatint titled as above, 1802 (see SP.376). Cf.from a different viewpoint, View of the Obelisk, with a portion of the village of Matarea in the vicinity of Cairo, Eyre & Hobhouse, 1983 (52). The Obelisk of Senusert is virtually all that remains of the ancient city of On (Greek Heliopolis; modern al-Matariyah).
Places depicted
Bibliographic reference
See large group of gouche drawings by Luigi Mayer, commissioned by Robert Ainslie (1729-1812) in Adam's Country House Collections at Slane Castle, Co. Meath, catalogue of auction held on 6th October 2009, lots 517 to 542.
Collection
Accession number
SD.646

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Record createdMarch 1, 2008
Record URL
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