Smith Jnr. (George, Irish architect, 1782-1869) Design for a mausoleum of Egyptian architecture, believed to have been proposed to be erected on the site of the ancient Serapium, to the memory of Sir Ralph Abercromby, at the Lake Madie [Abukir], near Alexandria, Egypt, pen and black ink, watercolour, on wove paper, 245 x 320 mm (9 5/8 x 12 1/2 in), under glass, some toning and minor surface dirt, framed, [1801]

Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1803, no. 887

Provenance:
Collection of John and Eileen Harris

⁂ Lt. Gen. Abercromby (1734-1801) had a distinguished military career, which ended at the Battle of Alexandria, 1801, which also brought the end of Napoleon's control of Egypt. Abercromby commanded the British Forces at the Battle of Alexandria, and was shot through his thigh, but refused to leave the battlefield until fighting was over. He died a week later from the wound, and his body was taken to Malta where he was buried. Numerous projects were undertaken to commemorate this hero, which ended in Westmacott's vast monument in St. Paul's Cathedral. The project depicted in the present lot by George Smith was intended to be raised on the site of the battlefield and was exhibited at the Royal Academy two years after the General's death.