Artwork
Damas
Damas is a drawing by the Romanticist artist William J. Tipping. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This 1840 drawing by William J.
About this work
In 1840, William J. Tipping sketched a house in Damascus. It’s a drawing, not a painting. You can see an open courtyard, a fountain, and a recessed sitting area.
Tipping was an amateur archaeologist who traveled the Near East. He visited places like Jarash and Masada. This house shows his interest in older and newer architecture.
Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum next.
Overview
This 1840 drawing by William J. Tipping records a domestic interior in Damascus. Rendered in pen and ink, the composition centers on an open courtyard (hawsh) that contains a small fountain and a recessed seating niche (takhtabush). The work offers a concise visual study of a typical urban residence in the Ottoman capital.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing captures everyday architectural elements rather than monumental ruins, highlighting the interplay between private and communal space in 19th‑century Damascus. The hawsh serves as a ventilated gathering area, while the fountain provides both aesthetic and practical functions, and the takhtabush offers a sheltered spot for occupants to sit and converse.
Technique & Style
Executed with precise line work, Tipping employs hatching to suggest depth and texture in stone and water. The sketch emphasizes geometric clarity, reflecting the artist’s systematic approach to recording architectural details, a method common among antiquarian illustrators of the period.
History & Provenance
William J. Tipping, an amateur archaeologist who toured the Near East from 1839 to 1846, produced the drawing during his travels. His broader fieldwork included sites such as the Parthenon, Jerash, and Masada. In 1864 he was admitted to the Society of Antiquaries, underscoring his scholarly reputation. The work now resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s drawing collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
This British artist drew the ruins of an ancient Roman city in 1842. Look at the crumbling columns and stone arches in Grand Temple Gerasa, the tiered Theatre, and the small sketches of the Bridge & Bath. These exacting…
