Lot 270
Burton, Richard F.
Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts
Auction: 15 January 2014 at 11:00 GMT
Description
Unknown artist, pastel on card said to be a portrait of Sir Richard F. Burton, attached to mount and laid-down onto board, framed and glazed, c.65x45cm
Footnote
Provenance: A note on the reverse of the portrait attributes it to the collection of General Sir Walter Scott.
Note: In December 1844, Burton was assigned as one of the four assistants to the sind Survey under the direction of Captain Sir Walter Scott (nephew of the famous writer). Later, in 1853, Burton disguised himself as a Pashtun (to account for any oddities in his Arabic accent) and sailed to Alexandria, with a view to performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. From Alexandria, Burton made his way to Medina and onto Mecca, where he performed the rituals of a pilgrim and finally set eyes upon the Kaaba at the centre of the Al-Masjid al-Haram, Islam's most sacred mosque.