23880 Museum Worsleyanum, London, 1799. Hand-coloured sepia engraving, 16 x 30 cms., wide margins, no foxing or marks, VG. Framed and glazed. A plate from Sir Richard Worsley's famous record of his travels (1783 - 1788) in Europe and the Near East "Museum Worsleyanum". Published in two volumes between 1798 and 1802, this sumptuous book set new standards for reproducing the wonders of the east. Worsley was accompanied on his travels by English architect Willey Reveley who made the drawing for this engraving. Only 250 copies of the book were produced. The Sphinx's chest was partially exposed in 1817, but the body was not fully excavated and exposed until 1925, making this pre-Napoleonic view quite rare. The missing nose also disproves the popular belief that one of Napoleon's soldiers was responsible for shooting the nose off in 1805. Cleveley's drawing of the 1780s clearly shows that Napoleon could not have been responsiible. The relevant page of letter-press accompanies the print. $295.00AUD
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