DigitalCommons@UNO

Title

"City and Fortress of Cabul" watercolor and ink drawing, 1846

Authors

W. L. Walton

Document Type

Document

Publication Date

1846

Abstract

A circa 1845 ink and watercolor drawing on paper for the lithograph plate "City and Fortress of Cabul" in Sir Robert Sale's "The Defence of Jellalabad" (London, lith. By W.L. Walton, ca. 1846). The view shows Afghani soldiers camping under the massive walls of the ancient Bala Hissar fortress, with Kabul city and River in the background. The soldiers are having a rest, talking leisurely at a camp fire, with a camel laying nearby and two soldiers on guard looking over the approaches to the Kabul River. The drawing is heightened in white and approximately 28x38.5 cm / 11x15 inches in size.

The following information about Sir Robert Sale was provided by the seller: "Major General Sir Robert Henry Sale (GCB) commanded the 1st Bengal Brigade during the advance on Kandahar, took part in the march to Kabul and led one of the storming columns at Ghazni in July 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842). For his services Sale was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and received the local rank of major-general. He was mostly noted for a defense of the Jalalabad fortress where he was besieged by the Afghan troops for half a year (November 1841 - April 1842). He then participated in General Pollock's advance to Kabul in order to relieve the British citizens, including Sale's wife and daughter. Sale was promoted to Knight Grand Cross (GCB) and to mark his leadership during the siege salutes were fired at every cantonment in India; later he also received official gratitude of the British Parliament."

Notes>Dimensions: 28x38.5 cm / 11x15 inches
Notes> Physical Description Field The 1846 watercolor and ink drawing of Kabul for the lithograph plate "City and Fortress of Cabul" was attached to a recent matte with "magic"/"invisible"/Scotch tape and photo corners when received. The watercolor was removed from its accompanying matte when it was accessioned.

Comments

This cataloging record is available at https://archives.nebraska.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/33632.

Recommended Citation

"City and Fortress of Cabul" watercolor and ink drawing, 1846. Afghanistan Artifact Collection, . University of Nebraska at Omaha Archives & Special Collections. https://archives.nebraska.edu/repositories/4/archival_objects/33632 Accessed July 10, 2019.