Porcher, Edwin Augustus, 1824-1878, 70. Tunis. The ruins of Baal Hammon Molech, or Saturn, at Carthage, with the mountain of Hamman El-enf in the distance. February 10th, 1860. Published in Davis’s ‘Carthage and Her Remains.’, 1860 February 10
- Call Number:
- MSS 38
- Creator:
- Porcher, Edwin Augustus, 1824-1878
- Title(s):
- 70. Tunis. The ruins of Baal Hammon Molech, or Saturn, at Carthage, with the mountain of Hamman El-enf in the distance. February 10th, 1860. Published in Davis’s ‘Carthage and Her Remains.’
- Date:
- 1860 February 10
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Series I: Drawings
- Part of Collection:
- Oversize 2
- Provenance:
- E.A. Porcher donated 16 drawings related to his Cyrene expedition to the British Museum in 1865. He left his remaining papers and watercolor works to Lieut. Col. Cecil Du Pre Penton Powney (b. 1862), his sister’s surviving son, who donated views, plans and elevations from the Cyrene expedition to the British Museum in 1894. The remaining manuscripts and drawings were inherited by Powney’s daughter, Beryl Wyndham Powney (c. 1896 -1976). Several components of the Porcher collection were sold by private dealers beginning in the 1970s (see 'Related Archival Materials Note' for Porcher holdings in other institutional collections).
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
- Scope and Content:
- This view was published in Nathan Davis’s publication, <title render="italic">Carthage and Her Remains</title>. Davis writes that the remains of the Molech structure was being used as materials for modern buildings (he includes a ground plan on page 148 of his publication). Described as vaulted structure, most likely surmounted by a triple dome, Davis concludes it must have contained a series of galleries and circular pilasters: “twelve to represent the twelve months, and four times twelve the forty-eight weeks of the ancient year.” Its circular form symbolic of the earth’s orbit, Davis is certain that it is a temple of Saturn, “the Baal Hammon of the Carthaginians, or Cronus… the God of Time” (Davis 231). Davis imagines that the temple once contained a terrifying image of Baal. A plan of the Dais, interpreted as the Temple of Saturn in the Carthage, is included facing page 177. The date of the watercolor (post-dating the Davis expedition, 1856-59) suggests Porcher was commissioned to return to the site to produce the watercolor for the publication.
- Additional Notes:
- B1977.14.221183
- Physical Description:
- 1 drawing : Watercolor, body color, on medium-thick beige paper, affixed to card mount ; sheet 25.25 x 35.5 cm, mount 36.5 x 52 cm
- Genre:
- Watercolors (paintings), Pictorial works, Diaries, Letters, and Ships' logs
- Subject Terms:
- Anglo-Burmese War, 2nd, 1852AntiquitiesAntiquities, RomanChronColoniesDescription and travelExcavations (Archaeology)FortificationHarborsHistory, NavalJunksNavigationPagodasPiracyPiratesPunic antiquitiesShipsTemplesVoyages and travels
- Subject Period:
- 1849-18611850-1900
- Associated Places:
- AsiaBurmaCarthage (Extinct city)ChinaChina SeaCyrene (Extinct city)East AsiaGozo Island (Malta)Grand Harbour (Malta)Great BritainGuangzhou (China)Hong Kong (China)MaltaMellieh̳a (Malta)Pulau Pinang (Malaysia : State)Qrendi (Malta)SingaporeTrincomalee (Sri Lanka)Tunis (Tunisia)TunisiaUtica (Extinct city)Valletta (Malta)
- Associated People/Groups:
- Boxer (Ship : 1855-1865)Cleopatra (Ship : 1843)Davis, N. (Nathan), 1812-1882Great Britain. Royal NavyHarpy (Ship : 1845-1909)Hibernia (Ship : 1804-1902)Kertch (Ship)Melville, Harden Sidney, active 1837-1882Porcher, Edwin A., 1824-1878Porcher, Madelina
- Finding Aid Title:
- Edwin Augustus Porcher Collection
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/19.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/2866
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/2866?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1