Cist Discovered at Roseisle

Artist Lady Sophia Dunbar (Cheshire, England, 1814 - 1909)

Date1859

Mediumwatercolour on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 18.8 cm, Width: 23.6 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1989.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG008392

Keywords

Cist

About MeLady Dunbar (1814-1909) was born in Cheshire as Sophia Orred. In 1840, upon her marriage to Sir Archibald Dunbar, she came to live in Elgin on the Moray coast. At this time she received private tuition from a number of drawing masters, including John Le Capelain of Jersey, but it was after the birth of her youngest child in 1859 that her 'career' as a painter began. Her first exhibited works appeared at the Society of Female Artists in 1863 and the Royal Scottish Academy in 1867. Henceforth the subjects of her paintings alternated between landscape views from abroad (the Dunbars were intrepid tourists, travelling as far afield as Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Algeria) and rural scenes observed closer to home in Morayshire and Aberdeenshire. When she exhibited for the last time at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1888 she had shown 42 paintings in total, a number which distinguishes her as a leading nineteenth-century lady watercolourist.

This is one of three works held in the collection which record the archaeological excavation of a cist at Roseisle on 14 June 1859. Lady Dunbar looked on with great interest as the site was excavated, sending a written account to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Scotland who published it in their Proceedings the following year. As it happens, her water colours are the only visual record of the cist and its excavation, which underlines the importance of the amateur painter at a time when photography was still in its infancy. This water colour is a study of the fully excavated cist and includes the following annotations, which record its measurements:

Length 3 feet
East End 19 inches
West End 2 feet
Depth 2 ft 2 inches
Urn found in the inside
at the N.W. corner, open
a X is marked

With Lady Dunbar's light touch, water colour seems an apt medium to capture the subtle hues and tonal values of the rock. This study gives every appearance of being carefully considered and accurate.

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It is hard to believe that this isn't a photograph, and that it's actually a watercolour sketch.