This 19th-century hand-colored lithograph titled “Ships of the Desert” presents a romanticized Orientalist portrayal of European women traveling through the arid landscapes of North Africa or the Middle East. The scene features two elegantly dressed women seated atop richly adorned camels, each shaded by parasols, evoking an air of refinement and leisure amid the harsh desert environment. Their camels are ornately caparisoned with tasseled blankets and decorative bridles.
They are accompanied by local guides dressed in traditional robes—one leading the caravan with a staff, and another walking beside the second camel, cloaked in a green mantle. The background suggests a desert encampment with distant palm trees and tents bathed in a warm, muted sunset glow.
Produced by the prominent British lithographers Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, this image reflects the Victorian-era fascination with the exotic “Orient,” blending ethnographic curiosity with imperial fantasy. The term “ships of the desert” poetically underscores the camel’s indispensable role in desert transportation and trade.

Product Details