Joseph Austin Benwell - A 19th Century Victorian Traveler's paintings of Egypt

Joseph Austin Benwell (1816–1886) was an English artist, engraver and illustrator. He was primarily an artist in the 'orientalist' style.

From 1840 Joseph worked for the East India Company, so he traveled extensively and his work in Egypt often featured camel caravans and Arab scenes with the ancient ruins in the background, Luxor Temple, Collosi of Memnon, and the Mortuary Temple of Seti 1,  are all based in Luxor. Noticeably all his paintings I have chosen, and given with a description of the Temple or monuments in the background of the Caravan scenes all feature a 'white camel,' which would be very rare, but obviously his trademark.

Luxor Temple

Joseph titled this painting 'A Camel Train Leaving Luxor' 1874

In this first painting you can see that a caravan is leaving the Courtyard of Amenhotep 111 inside Luxor Temple, as you will notice in the painting, the sand has half covered the columns in the Temple. In the background of the painting is the Mosque of Abu Hagag, which was built on top of the temple roof about 800 years ago, at that time again the sand level was very high, but if you go into the Temple today, the door is high up and unreachable, so a new door and steps leading from the mosque had to be created on the back wall of the Mosque. this mosque itself is very unusual as it has some of the columns of Ramses 11 inside the actual mosque, they are surrounded by prayer mats.

In front of the mosque you can also see the front pylons of Luxor Temple, (behind the camels) and the Obelisk of Ramses 11, In Ancient Egypt, a temple was a recreation on earth of Egypt, the pylons represented the East and Western deserts, and the entrance would be where the River Nile would flow through dividing the deserts. An Obelisks would flash the rays of the sun down it's sides bringing energy and new life to the King and his temple, Luxor Temple originally had two obelisks, one was given to France in 1835 to express appreciation of Champollion deciphering the Hieroglyphics or 'Gods Words'

Amenhotep 111 had a strong rule and Egypt thrived under his guidance, he was the father of Akhenaten, whose rule almost brought Egypt to the brink of disaster. Akhenaten closed all the Temples in Egypt, which drove a lot of people into poverty as they worked for the temples, but Akhenaten insisted there was only one God, The Aten, he left Waset (Luxor) and created a new capital in the desert at Armarna. After the death of Akhenaten his son Tutankhaten returned back to Weset, and reinstated the Egyptian Gods, he also changed his name to express his worship to the God Amun, and became Tutankhamun. He created a long hallway of columns leading to his Granfather's Festival Hall.

The Colossi of Memnon

Joseph named this painting 'Camels passing the Memnon'

Amenhotep 111 also built the Colossi of Memnon, which originally stood outside the front of his Mortuary Temple on the West bank, the temple was very large, and over the last twenty years archaeologists have uncovered many statues from beneath the sand. The Collosi of Memnon was famous in ancient times for singing at dawn, and people came from Greece and Rome to hear the colossi sing, The statues sitting on the Throne of Two Lands rise to a height of 66ft, and the left one is in a better condition than the right one, the decoration on the base of the throne shows Hapi the God of The Nile, he is an unusual God because although male he is represented with female breasts, and a flabby belly of a woman who has seen child birth, his presence on the colossi would be to guarantee the fertility of the cultivated fields when the Nile floods.

The Greeks named the right statue after the legend of Memnon who was the son of the Titan Goddess Eos. Memnon had been slain by Achilles during the Trojan War and the Greeks believed the sound that came from the statue in the morning was Memnon greeting his mother Eos who wept for the death of her son.  Graffiti carved on the foot of the Memnon translated reads ‘From Trebulla. Hearing the Holy voice of Memnon I missed you, O my mother, and I prayed that you might hear him too.’

The Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the Memnon with his wife the Empress Sabrina and his court, in their company was a poet and companion of the empress Julia Balbilla, she had her own graffiti carved onto the foot of the Memnon which translated  reads: ‘I Balbilla, when the rock spoke, heard the voice of the Divine Memnon or Phamenoth. I came here with the lovely Empress Sabina. The Course of the Sun was in its first hour, in the fifteenth year of Hadrian’s reign on the 24th day of the month of Hathor, I wrote this on the 25th day of the month of Hathor

Seti 1 Mortuary Temple

Joseph named this painting 'Rest in Gournah'  1876

In this painting you can see the remains of the Mortuary Temple of Seti 1, in the background behind the 'white camel'.  Seti 1 temple has few visitors as it is not as elaborate as the Rammessium or Hatshepsut's Temple that receive many tourists. Seti's mortuary temple sits in a quiet location not far from the Rammessium the mortuary temple of his son Ramses the Great.

Seti's mortuary temple is not complete, as most of the  East side of the temple is buried underneath the town of Gournah, and you can only see some of what remains of the original temple. Seti died before his Mortuary temple was complete, and so his son Ramses 11 finished his temple on his behalf. A mortuary temple was used during a king's lifetime for festivals, such as the 'Beautiful Feast of the Valley' when floral tributes would be brought from across the river from Karnack temple to the mortuary temples on the West Bank. After a king had died, the priests would say prayers for the king, and offer him food and wine for his afterlife, the ancient Egyptians believed that if your name is spoken, you will live again.

Seti had the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings, it was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1816, who found it to be wonderful, and spent a few months recording the reliefs, Seti was not in his sarcophagi as he had been moved in the 25th Dynasty by priests.

Seti also created the Amazing Hypostyle Hall in Karnack Temple, which is considered as the 'Reception area of the Gods' the enormous columns represent the first creation on the primeval mound, and once again his son Ramses finished the hall off after his death, but Seti is shown on the reliefs to be invited into the Hall by the Gods and is also shown celebrating his Sed Festival, which meant that he had ruled for 30 years.