Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

David Roberts
General View of the Island of Philae, Nubia

$2,800.71
£2,080
€2,452.77
CA$3,880
A$4,351.68
CHF 2,278.91
MX$52,877.15
NOK 28,938.31
SEK 27,435.55
DKK 18,308.64

About the Item

General View of the Island of Philae, Nubia Subscription and first edition lithographs in stock Full plate: 151 Presented in a acid free mount £2080 Scroll down for more information. Philae is at the head, and is the most eastern of the group of islands and rocks which form the First Cataract of the Nile; and the traveller who has ascended the river and reached Philae, has passed this dangerous navigation and entered Nubia. Philae is known to the natives as Giesirel el Berbe el Ghassir - the Island of ruined Temples. “It is,” says Roberts, “a paradise in the midst of desolation. It's ruins, even at a distance, are more picturesque than any I have seen. To me  it brought recollections of my fatherland - I know not why: I thought of the first descent upon Roslin Castle; though there are no points of resemblance, except, perhaps, in the high and barren rocks, which nearly surround Philae, to remind me of Scotland.” This view embraces the whole of Philae from the neighbouring island of Biggè, taken from a spot on the high rocks near some ruins. It's length is about five or six hundred yards. Warburton describes the whole island as not being more than fifty acres in size, but as richer, perhaps, in objects of interest than any spot of similar extent in the world. The prospect extends over an assemblage of temples, and the islet, amidst rich verdure, is strewn with marble wrought in every beautiful form known to ancient art. Over prostrate columns palms are waving, mingled with the foliage and blossoms of the acacia. Around the island flows the clear, bright river, and on its brink lies the old temple of Osiris, now called Pharaoh's Bed. Beyond the river green patches dispute the  surface with the drifts of desert sands, palms, rocks, and villages; beyond all, and darkly encircling this paradise, rises the rugged chain of Hemeceuta, or Golden Mountains. The Island of Philae was esteemed the most sacred place in the dominions of Egypt. Here mythological legend placed the tomb of Osiris; and when they swore - by him who slept in Philae, - they gave to their oath its greatest solemnity. The island at large was consecrated to the great triad - Osiris, Isis, and Horus; but the principal temple is supposed to have been dedicated to Isis. Walls and embankments of great strength have been built on the rocky shores of the island, forming strong defences against the river, or an enemy, and presenting a larger levelled surface for its sacred structures. The principal water-gate is seen on the left, which leads to the enclosure. Mr. Hay, it is said, has discovered a  tunnel or passage between Philae and Biggè, composed of well-constructed masonry, into which the entrance from Philae led by a shaft found in the ruins of the Great Temple.
  • Creator:
    David Roberts (1796-1864, British)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    19cmX12.5cmPrice: $2,801
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52415427712

More From This Seller

View All
General View Asouan & The Island of Elephantine
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
Subscription and first edition lithographs in stock Full plate: 196 Presented in a acid free mount
Category

19th Century Victorian Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

View From Under The Portico of The Temple of Edfou, Upper Egypt
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
David Roberts R.A. 1796 - 1864 VIEW FROM UNDER THE PORTICO OF THE TEMPLE OF EDFOU, UPPER EGYPT First edition lithograph available Full plate: 157 Presented in an acid free mount We have in stock a full set of the David Roberts lithographs...
Category

Mid-19th Century Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Baalbec, General View
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
Subscription and first Edition lithographs Full plate: 77 Presented in an acid free mount Original hand coloured subscription edition and modern hand-coloured lithograph for the fir...
Category

19th Century Victorian Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Kom Ombo - David Roberts - Orientalist
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
David Roberts 1796 - 1864 Kom Ombo First Edition lithograph Full plate: 210 Presented in an acid free mount
Category

1840s Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

El Deir, Petra
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
Available in the First Edition lithograph Full plate: 90 Presented in a acid free mount We only sell the original 19th century lithographs by David Roberts, please read the informa...
Category

19th Century Victorian Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Front Elevation of The Great Temple of Aboo Simbel
By David Roberts
Located in London, GB
Front Elevation of The Great Temple of Aboo Simbel First edition lithograph Full plate: 169 Presented in a acid free mount £2,600 Scroll down for more information. Roberts reached A...
Category

19th Century Victorian Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

You May Also Like

Island of Philae, Egypt. Early 19th century engraving, 1820
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Ile de Philae : Vue de l'edifice de l'est et de plusieurs monuments' (Island of Philae : View of the east building and other monuments) Elephant folio engraving, by Baltard after...
Category

Early 19th Century Other Art Style Landscape Prints

Materials

Engraving

Ruins of the Temple of Kom Ombo, Egypt: A 19th C. Lithograph by David Roberts
By David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "Ruins of Kom Ombo" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, published in London by...
Category

1840s Realist Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ancient View of The Ruins of Philae - Original Lithograph - Mid-19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Ruins of Philae is an original modern artwork realized in the mid-19th Century. Original B/W Lithograph on Ivory Paper. Inscripted on the lower margin in Capital Letters: Die...
Category

Mid-19th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Medinet Abou, Thebes, Egypt. David Roberts Oriental lithograph, 1847.
By David Roberts
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Medinet Abou, Thebes', tinted lithograph by Louis Haghe (1806-1885) after David Roberts RA. David Roberts (1796-1864) traveled throughout Egypt and the Holy Land in the late 1830s ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Temple of Kalabshi, Egypt: David Roberts' 19th C. Hand-colored Lithograph
By David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century hand-colored lithograph entitled "Portico of the Temple of Kalabshi" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, p...
Category

1840s Realist Interior Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Entrance to the Citadel of Cairo, Egypt: A 19th C. Lithograph by David Roberts
By David Roberts
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 19th century duotone lithograph entitled "The Entrance to the Citadel of Cairo" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, pub...
Category

1840s Realist Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph