David Roberts, R.A.

Probably Lord Francis Egerton, later 1^st Earl of Ellesmere (1800-1857), purchased from the artist,

The Ellesmere Sale, London, Christie's, 2 April 1870, lot 87, bt Philpot;

probably, sale, London, Christie's, 29 May 1873, lot 105;

sale, London, Christie's, 12 February 1974, lot 81, bt Spink,

sale, London, Christie's, 14 June 1983, lot 9, bt Spink;

with The Fine Art Society, London,

from whom acquired in 1985 by Agnew's on behalf of the parents of the present owners. 

Lithographed:

by Louis Haghe for The Holy Land, London 1849, vol. III, pl. 89 & London 1856, vol. III, pl. 89 (as Arabs of the Desert)

Oxford, The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, on long-term loan, 2015 - 2021  

When, on the 7^th of February 1839, Roberts and his two European companions, John Pell and John Kinnear, struck out into the desert from Cairo their safety and indeed their very survival was in the hands of their guides: a group of fifteen members of the Benisaid tribe who had been supplied for that purpose by their leader, Sheikh Hussein. Roberts took an immediate liking to these men and feeling that they could be trusted, he wrote in his journal ‘I feel I will enjoy the journey.'¹

This striking portrait shows Besharah, a member of the party who Roberts grew to particularly admire. He is portrayed wearing a white turban, which indicates his rank, a loose shirt that falls to the knees, a long cloak spun from goat or camel hair and fish-skin sandals of the type that were sold in Sinai. Tucked into his belt he carries a broad crooked knife, while a long-barreled matchlock gun is slung behind his back. Beyond him, other tribesman look on, their striped keffiyeh headdresses clearly visible in the bright sunlight.

This watercolour, which survives in superb condition, was lithographed by Louis Haghe and is the only portrait included in The Holy Land series. Like most watercolours in this collection, the present lot has a long and distinguished history. Having appeared in the Ellesmere sale of 1870, it is very likely to have been one of a large group of drawings that Lord Egerton, later 1^st Earl of Ellesmere acquired directly from the artist himself. Egerton was the second son of the 1^st Duke of Sutherland. He was a Conservative politician, an early advocate of free trade and a founding trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. He was also a writer, poet and major patron of the arts. He inherited from his great-uncle, the 3^rd Duke of Bridgewater, a magnificent collection of old master paintings and he added significantly to this legacy by patronizing contemporary artists. In 1844 Roberts wrote that he had sold over eighty drawings of Middle Eastern subjects to him for £1,400. For other works in this sale which were either certainly or probably in his collection, please see lots: 303, 307-313, 315, 316, 318, 320, 322-325, 327, 328, 330-332, 334 and 335. 

^1. J. Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., London 1866, p. 114