Lot Essay
A later inscription on the mount reads 'To Herbert William Mansfield Esq. with kind regards/from W. Holman Hunt's daughter'
Like lot 12, the drawing dates from Hunt's first to the East. Accompanied by Thomas Seddon, he left Cairo for the Holy Land on 11 May 1854, travelling down the Nile by boat. They reached Seminood (site of the ancient Sebbenytos, now usually spelt 'Sammanud') three days later, and stayed three or four hours, fascinated by the riverside bazaars. According to Hunt, the present drawing records 'the perfect composition of a group of youths playing with shells in a café', and Mr Martin Davies has kindly identified the game as Siga (spelt 'Seega' in Hunt's day). The Nile and the furled sail of a felucca can be seen in the distance
Like lot 12, the drawing dates from Hunt's first to the East. Accompanied by Thomas Seddon, he left Cairo for the Holy Land on 11 May 1854, travelling down the Nile by boat. They reached Seminood (site of the ancient Sebbenytos, now usually spelt 'Sammanud') three days later, and stayed three or four hours, fascinated by the riverside bazaars. According to Hunt, the present drawing records 'the perfect composition of a group of youths playing with shells in a café', and Mr Martin Davies has kindly identified the game as Siga (spelt 'Seega' in Hunt's day). The Nile and the furled sail of a felucca can be seen in the distance