Name of Object:

Mount Tabor

Location:

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)

Holding Institution:

Sharjah Art Museum / Sharjah Museums Department

 About Sharjah Museums Authority, Sharjah

Date of Object:

Late 19th century

Author:

John Douglas Woodward (12/7/1846, Middlesex County, Virginia, USA-1924, New York)

Inventory Number:

SM 2006 - 863

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Coloured wood engraving

Dimensions:

246 mm x 235 mm

Provenance:

Probably New York

Description:

This depiction of Mount Tabor by the American artist John Douglas Woodward carries the caption 'Mount Tabor. Bearing among the Arabs, like so many other mountains, only the general name 'Jebel et Tur'. The scene suggests a rugged, primeval landscape untouched by modern humanity, the mystically lit, driven clouds that half veil the mounting evoking a spiritual and at the same time awe-inspiring atmosphere well suited to an important biblical site. In popular Christian tradition: Mount Tabor was associated with the Transfiguration of Christ. At the same time the mountain was to prove of historical importance, too. In 1799, during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition in the area, the valley between Mount Tabor and the Moreh Hill saw a decisive battle in which a French force of about 3,000 soldiers under the command of Napoleon and General Jean Baptiste Kléber faced a Mamluk force of about 20,000 soldiers.

Type of Object

Coloured wood engraving

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike al-Khamis "Mount Tabor" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;ua;29;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis

MWNF Working Number: UA 029