1842 Roberts Dexlue Edition View of Ed-Deir, Petra, Jordan

A scarce c. 1842 deluxe edition of David Roberts' view of the 'monastery' or temple at ed-Deir, one of the most recognizable ruins in Petra, Jordan.

A Closer Look

This view depicts ed-Deir (also as ad-Deir and el-Deir), 'the Monastery,' one of the largest and most iconic monuments in Petra. A group of local men, perhaps Roberts' guides, sit and rest in the foreground. In the background towards right are additional ruins, likely a portion of the Royal Tombs situated to the southeast of ed-Deir.

Most likely built at the height of the Nabataean Kingdom's power in the 1st century CE, ed-Deir probably served a religious function and may have later been used as a church in the Byzantine period, though a great deal of uncertainty surrounds the structure. Its architectural style is characteristically Nabataean, combining Mesopotamian, Phoenician, and Hellenistic influences and modifying them to suit local tastes and functions. The Corinthian-style columns are purely decorative, as the structure, carved directly into the sandstone, would not require columns for support.

Petra

An UNESCO World Heritage site, Petra in Jordan is immediately recognizable due to its distinctive ancient architecture that was carved into cliff faces. The city developed in Antiquity when it was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, ideally situated along incense trade routes. Aside from their trading acumen, the Nabataeans were highly skillful in harnessing, storing, and channeling water in the arid environment to ensure agricultural production. Though the kingdom declined with the establishment of maritime trade routes, it left a legacy as one of the most unique and impressive built environments in human history. Europeans were unaware of the existence of Petra's ruins until 1812, when they were found by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Roberts was only the third European (after Léon de Laborde and Louis-Maurice-Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds) to sketch the ruins, making this an especially early illustration.

Roberts' Travels in the Middle East

Roberts is best known for his work depicting the landscapes and architecture of the Middle East. His travels to Egypt and the Holy Land in the late 1830s resulted in a series of paintings and lithographs that gained widespread acclaim. He captured iconic sites such as the temples of Abu Simbel, the pyramids of Giza, and the ruins of Petra. The series of lithographs, The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia, were popular and influential, helping cement Europeans' imagination of the Middle East.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by David Roberts in 1839 and lithographed by Louis Haghe in 1842, part of the series The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia, published between 1842 and 1849. This is an example of the scarce 'deluxe' or subscribers' edition of this print, which were trimmed and mounted on heavy stock with the marginal titles removed, presumably for framing. Examples from this edition were considerably more expensive than the standard edition when published and are, therefore, much scarcer. Due to the existence of standard and deluxe editions, and the intermingling of digital and physical examples in catalog listings, establishing a census for this work is difficult. The individual view is cataloged with the Library of Congress and the Wellcome Collection while the entire series is more widely distributed in institutional holdings, though the deluxe edition far less so.