Artist: Clarkson Stanfield (1793–1867), after an on-the-spot field sketch by Major Orlando Felix (1790–1860)
Engraver: Edward Francis Finden (1791–1857)
Technique: Original Antique Steel Engraving, Plate thirty
Dimensions: Plate: 10.0x14.3 cm | Page: 13.0x23.3 cm
Status: Authentic 1836 print, explicit text attribution on the lower plate border
Publisher: John Murray, London (Sold also by Charles Tilt)
About the Artwork:
This authentic antique steel engraving, published in 1836, captures the monumental ruins of No-Amon, traditionally identified as ancient Thebes (Diospolis) and the Great Temple at Karnak, Upper Egypt. The landscape holds high biblical and prophetic significance, citing the biblical name of the city from the Book of Jeremiah chapter forty six, verse twenty five: "The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No". The scene was developed by the celebrated British marine painter Clarkson Stanfield, utilizing an accurate on-the-spot field study by traveler Major Orlando Felix.
Engraved by Edward Finden, the composition highlights the dramatic ruins, anchored on the right by a massive, free-standing column adorned with a decorated lotus capital. In the background, rows of ancient monumental papyrus-bud pillars, stone walls, and a distant obelisk rise before an expansive open sky. The foreground is littered with scattered, massive fallen masonry and lintel fragments. The scene is animated by regional Egyptian and Arab figures in traditional attire resting on the architectural debris on the left, alongside horses and a guard standing near the center. This plate originates from the publication Landscape Illustrations of the Bible.
About the Artists:
Clarkson Stanfield (1793–1867): A prominent English marine and landscape painter and Royal Academician, highly praised by John Ruskin for his mastery of dramatic topographical perspectives and atmospheric lighting.
Major Orlando Felix (1790–1860): A British army officer and antiquarian who traveled extensively through Egypt and the Levant in the late 1820s and early 1830s, compiling accurate and pioneering architectural field drawings of ancient monuments.
Edward Finden (1791–1857): A master London line engraver who, alongside his brother William, produced some of the finest premium steel-plate architectural and landscape illustrations of the nineteenth century.