Lot 142: The Temple of Hatshepsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut signed and dated 'Howard Carter 1899' (lower right) watercolour 42 x 31cm (16 9/16 x 12 3/16in).

42x 31cm

The Fine Art Society, London

Hatshepsut, the 'foremost of noble ladies' was the fifth Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Widely regarded as one of the most successful Pharaohs, Hatshepsut reigned longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. Egyptologist James Henry Breasted suggests that she was 'the first great woman in history of whom we are informed'. The temple itself is located beneath the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari on the West Bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings. Between 1894 and 1899 Carter worked at Thebes (Deir el-Bahari) recording the wall reliefs in the Temple of Hatshepsut. The present lot dates from this period.