Lot 5
  • 5

Edwin Lord Weeks

Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 GBP
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Description

  • Edwin Lord Weeks
  • Rabat (The Red Gate)
  • signed and dated E. L. Weeks. Rabat. 1879 lower left; indistinctly inscribed on the reverse 
  • oil on canvas
  • 72.5 by 99cm., 28½ by 39in.

Provenance

Mrs Thomas B. Reed
A bequest from the above on 21 July 1914

Exhibited

University Art Galleries, University of New Hampshire, The Art of Edwin Lord Weeks (1849-1903), 1976, no. 4, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

The Magazine Antiques, August 1985, illustrated

Condition

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. There are two very minor spots of paint flaking in the far upper left corner, as visible in the catalogue illustration, and some fine lines of drying craquelure in the white pigments of the tent to the right. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some very fine lines of strengthening in the black horse's legs and some pin-head sized spots closer to the left edge. Otherwise, this work is in virtually original condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This monumental view of the inner gate of the Kasbah of Oudaïas in Rabat was painted during Weeks' third trip to Morocco with his wife Frances Rollins Hale, taking in Tangier, Tetuan, and Rabat. His journey was extensively described in an article titled 'Two Centres of Moorish Art', which appeared in Scribner’s Magazine in 1901. In Rabat, Weeks became fascinated by the kasbah, a fortified citadel built in the twelfth century during the time of the Almohad Caliphate (AD 1121-1269). Having defeated the Almoravids and besieged the city of Rabat, the Almohads destroyed the old kasbah and began the construction of a new one in 1151 AD. Today, the ramparts and gates are amongst the few original parts of the kasbah, testament to the political and religious power of the Almohad Caliphate.

The gate was a spectacular example of highly-ornamented Almohad architecture, characterised by a horse-shoe arch and intertwined arabesques which conveyed elegance and grandeur. Morocco's imposing city gates formed the backdrop to several major French Orientalist works, including Eugène Delacroix's Moulay Abd-Er-Rahman, sultan du Maroc, sortant de son palais de Meknès (Musée des Augustins, Toulouse), or Benjamin-Constant's Les derniers rebelles (Musée d'Orsay).

An enthusiastic traveller, Weeks returned to Morocco in 1880, but subsequently ventured further east, to India, which became the subject of his later work.



The authenticity of this work had been confirmed by Dr Ellen K Morris.