Edward Lear
On the Nile, opposite El Ouasta, Egypt
Lot Closed
July 6, 02:33 PM GMT
Estimate
1,500 - 2,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Edward Lear
London 1812 - 1888 San Remo
On the Nile, opposite El Ouasta, Egypt
Pen and brown ink and watercolour,ജ heig🅺htened with white;
inscribed and dated lower left: opposite El Ouasta. 8.45. AM. 2 January 1867, numbered lower right: (22), further inscribed with colour notes
62 by 206 mm
Sir Max Mallowan (1904-1978),
by descent to the present owner
In December 1866 Edward Lear left England and embarked on a tour of Egypt and Palestine. He had last visi🐈ted the region thirteen years previously. However, this time he was determined to travel further afield with the ultimate aim of painting in the Nubian Desert. He arrived in Cairo in early January 1867 and hired a boat to take him down the Nile.
The present lot was owned by Sir Max Mallowan, an expert in ancient Middle Eastern history who made major contributions to the world of archaeology. In 1930 he married Agatha Christie, who amusingly quipped, when asked what it is like to be married to an archaeologist: 'It's wonderful. The older I get, the more interested he is in me.'1
1. H. Kushner, When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, 2002, p. 171