Book auction includes drawings by Lepsius

Asharq Alawsat

Books, maps and vintage photographs were auctioned yesterday at Sotheby's at a sale entitled "Natural History, Travel, Atlases and Maps".

Hailing from all over the world, the collection offers something special for everybody. Moreover, the catalogue is very diverse and presents various different perspectives of travelling scholars who toured the world in search of knowledge and for the love of travel.

Deputy Director of Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby's Richard Fattorini, surrounded by bookcases and scattered maps, pointed to a large collection of volumes to his right and revealed that the collection included drawings by the renowned Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius.

Lepsius, a German native, is deemed one of the forefathers of Egyptology and is known for having accurately conducted a number of important and accurate surveys of Egyptian monuments, among other achievements. It is a rare and important collection for many specialists, Fattorini stated.

Indeed, simply browsing this collection gives one a sense of the greatness of the work achieved by Lepsius. His drawings of temple walls have transformed to become amazing artworks. A particularly striking one depicts a temple worker admiring one of the Pharaonic columns that surround him. These drawings date back to 1849-1858 and depict some sites and locations that have disappeared as a result of demolition or have become buried under the sand.

Also featured in the same catalogue is a copy of the 11-volume book 'Description de l'Égypte' (1809), which is the collaborative work of 160 scholars and scientists and which later incorporated the contributions of thousands of artists and engravers.