Front Page of "Harper's Weekly" showing the Obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle (Saturday, January 10, 1880)

Anonymous, American, late 19th century American

1880

Not on view

This front page of Harper's Weekly shows a full-page illustration of the obelisk popularly referred to as "Cleopatra's Needle" in its original location on the banks of the river Nile in Egypt. A second, smaller insert shows the monument packed and ready for shipment to the United States. An American flag crowns the monument as a symbol of its appropriation. The obelisk was shipped several months after this issue was published, and was eventually permanently installed in Central Park, right in front of the Metropolitan Museum's historic park-facing façade. The obelisk is one of three to be referred to as "Cleopatra's Needle" (the two others are located in Paris and London), although none of the three monuments were actually built during Cleopatra's reign.

Artwork Details

Overview

Title: Front Page of "Harper's Weekly" showing the Obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle (Saturday, January 10, 1880)
Artist: Anonymous, American, late 19th century
Date: 1880
Medium: Hand-colored wood engraving
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/2 in. × 11 in. (39.4 × 27.9 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Anne Wikler Mininberg, 2019
Object Number: 2019.595.1
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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