Lawrence, T.E.

length 110 cm, stand collar fastening with two silk thread buttons with plaited loop fastenings, eight similar buttons at each wrist, the collar, front openings and cuffs bordered with ivory knitted silk braid, simple silk cord tie fastenings at waist, slit pockets and concealed inside breast pocket, fully lined with lawn cotton, loop for hanging inside neck, stamped in black ink ("H157") and with woven label ("150"), several brown stains beneath waist ties, one small hole on right sleeve (3mm diameter)

[with:] letter of provenance by R.J. Hutchins, dated 2 July 1999

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"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."

"...If you wear Arab things, wear the best. Clothes are significant among the tribes, and you must wear the appropriate, and appear at ease in them. Dress like a Sherif, if they agree to it..." (T.E. Lawrence, from 'Twenty-seven Articles', 1917)

Lawrence famously wore Arab dress during the Arab Revolt, although he had previously adopted the costume when excavating at Carchemish in Syria in the years before World War I. He always preferred very light colours and is depicted wearing a thawb (under-robe) very similar to this one in photographs taken at the time of the Akaba campaign of 1917. Towards the end of the war he tended to wear more elaborate costume. By the time he returned to Europe after the war, Lawrence had assembled a substantial collection of contemporary Arab dress and he made a number of gifts to friends and family. Items of Arab dress from Lawrence' collection are now found at institutions including the Ashmolean museum, Oxford, All Souls College, Oxford, the Museum of Costume, Bath, and the National Army Museum (see Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence of Arabia, (National Portrait Gallery Publications, 1988), nos 105, 106, 108, 112, 113, and 114).

This thawb was presented by Lawrence to his childhood friend Charles Henry Hutchins, the garden of whose childhood home abutted the Lawrence family home on Polstead Road, Oxford. Both boys attended Oxford High School and Hutchins's reminiscences of his childhood friend are printed in The Letters of T.E. Lawrence (1938), pp.37-38. The two families remained on friendly terms for many decades after the children grew up, for which see following lot. Other Lawrence items from the Hutchins family, including a carpet brought back from Aleppo in 1914, were sold at Sotheby's in July 1999.