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Fragments of Urn Found in a Cist at Roseisle
Fragments of Urn Found in a Cist at Roseisle

Fragments of Urn Found in a Cist at Roseisle

Artist (Cheshire, England, 1814 - 1909)
Date1859
Mediumwatercolour on paper
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: Height: 22 cm, Width: 25.9 cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1989.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG008395
Keywords
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 watercolours 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 watercolour details the four fragments of the urn found in the north-west corner of the cist. It clearly shows the ornamental features etched into the outside of the urn, including chevrons, stripes and a basket-weave pattern around the rim.