Plate 60 Christian Church of St George, Lod ancient Lydda - After David Roberts
Roberts drew this composition on the 29th March 1839.
'Roberts spent the evening of the 27th of March at Ramla in the company of the monks of the convent, who had shown themselves in the meanwhile to be extremely jovial hosts. The following day the Scotsman had a chance to visit the nearby town of Lod briefly. It had once been known by the name Lydda, and was supposedly the birthplace of St. George. In antiquity, it had been a busy local capital, the centre of a complex network of roads, and a commercial centre of considerable importance, mentioned in the documents of the Pharaohs as early as 1500 B.C. Later, it was untied politically with Samaria, and later still with Judea, when it took part in the revolt against the Romans. The town was destroyed by Vespasian and by Hadrian, but it was rebuilt, and was dubbed Diospolis - or the "City of God" - by Septimius Severus.
Lod became one of the earliest Christian communities, was an episcopal see under Constantine, but it declined as Ramla prospered. Conquered by the Crusaders, who built a church in Frankish Romanesque style there and dedicated it to Saint George - the ruins of that church greatly impressed David Roberts - the city was destroyed by Saladin and rebuilt by Richard the Lionheart. Sacked by the Mongols in 1271, it declined in importance until the modern day. Israel's national poet, Abraham Shlonski, has described it as the "city of Books, an oasis of peace and of watchtowers." After crossing the last hills of Judea, Roberts finally came within sight of the Holy City and spent the night camped just a short distance from the walls. In his journal, the Scottish artist noted that the surrounding area was immersed in an absolute silence, broken only by the occasional howling of a distant dog and by the scream of a solitary owl, perched on the battlements. Here, too, the date that appears in the margin of the illustration should probably be moved up by a day or two.' [1]
The drawings and watercolours from this tour by David Roberts of the Holy Land and Egypt were collated together into folios and released over a seven-year period by the publisher F.G. Moon from 20 Threadneedle Street London. This lithograph was published on August 18th 1843.
Medium: Original First Edition Lithograph, with later hand-colouring on thick woven paper.
Half Plate 60.
Inscribed l.r. 'David Roberts R.A.' and l.l. 'Christian Church of St George at Lud ancient Lydda March 29th 1839', 25.3 x 33.8cm (lithograph size, the composition is arched), mounted (42.2 x 51.4cm).
The original title is visible through a cut out on the mount 'Lydda' and the original text from the publication in 1843 is included attached to the back of the mount.
References:
[1] Fabio Bourbon (ed). Yesterday and Today: The Holy Land. Swan Hill Press: London, 1996, p.118. Translated by A.B.A. Milano.
Condition report: good for its age. A few small markings and time staining, please see photos. Recently put into a new acid free mount.