[Oman-L] Ahmed Bin Na'umann's Voyage to US in "Al Sultanah" in 1840

[Peter B Rowland]

The reference is Eilts, Hermann Frederick, Ahmad bin Na'aman's Mission to 
the United States in 1840, the Voyage of Al-Sultanah to New York City, 
Essex Institute Historical Collections, 1962 (Oct.) 98:4:219-77 ~


"The sole identifiable representation of al-Sultanah known to the writer is 
a front view engraving which appeared in The London Illustrated News for 
the week ending June 18,1842. Though not specifically named in the picture, 
caption evidence supports the identification. The writer acknowledges with 
thanks the kindness of the Curator of the National Maritime Museum of 
London in drawing his attention to it. Possibly the three-masted ship in 
the background seascape of Mooney's portrait of Ahmad was intended to 
represent Sultanah, but there is no corroborating
evidence." quote p,219

There is a b/w illustration opposite p. 232 of the engraving which appeared 
in The London Illustrated News.

Peter B Rowland


At 09:57 12/12/2007, you wrote:
>Greetings,
>
>I  would like to make a general request for information about Ahmed Bin 
>Na'umann's voyage to New York in "Al Sultanah" in 1840.
>
>I am a marine artist-historian.  I have been commissioned to paint a large 
>mural for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Al Said.  This mural will be an atlas 
>of the world and is to depict the major voyages of historical importance 
>and interest in Oman's maritime past, including detailed images of the 
>ships.   One voyage in particular is of special importance and interest. 
>In 1840 the then ruler of Oman, Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al Bu-Sa'id, sent 
>his envoy, His Excellency Ahmed bin Na'uman, on a state visit to New York 
>to meet President Van Buren.   This was the first state visit of any 
>ambassador from Oman to the United States.    The voyage was made in the 
>sailing ship "Al Sultanah" and was an event of particular importance in 
>Omani maritime history.
>
>I have discovered very little information here in Oman about this voyage 
>and the ship, except that there is now a model of the ship, "Al Sultanah", 
>on display in the new Museum of the Land of Frankincence in 
>Salalah.  Although of European design she was built in the Mazagon 
>Dockyard in Bombay in 1833.   She arrived in New York in 1840, having 
>taken only 87 days on passage from Zanzibar - particularly fast passage.
>
>The model shows her square-rigged on the main and foremasts only, with 
>only a gaff rigged "spanker" on the mizzen and no square-rig yards.   It 
>is thought that "Al Sultanah" was later converted to a barque, as the 
>model shows, with the yards stripped from the mizzen, but she was 
>originally built as a 3-masted sailing ship and I'm fairly sure that she 
>was still square-rigged on the mizzen when she arrived in New York.   That 
>would appear to be so from Edward Mooney's portrait of Ahmed Bin Na'umann, 
>painted during that visit, which appears on p.182 in the book "Oman - a 
>Searing Nation".   He has painted "Al Sultanah" in the background in his 
>portrait of Ahmed Bin Na'uman, and although there is little discernible 
>detail there are clearly three square-rig yards on the mizzen.
>
>I must depict the ship as she was during her voyage to the United States 
>in 1840.   I have discovered that the American diplomat
>Hermann Frederik Eilts, who served many years in the Middle East, wrote a 
>book, published in 1962, about this voyage.  The book and subsequent 
>reprints are out of print and I haven't been able to locate a copy.   Mr 
>Eilts died last year, so I cannot contact him.
>
>The American pictorial-historian E.Harper Johnson wrote and illustrated a 
>book entitled "Oman A Pictorial Resuscitation" which was published by the 
>Ministry of Information in 1997.  Unfortunately I believe that Harper 
>Johnson is also no longer with us.
>
>I would like to ask if any "OMAN-L" subscribers might have any information 
>about this voyage, the ship, or any reference sources, or have old copies 
>of either of these books they are prepared to sell.   I believe that 
>somewhere there is a record of a photograph of the ship having been 
>published in a New York newspaper, but I cannot track it 
>down.  Photography was certainly in its infancy in those days, barely out 
>its 'teens', but it is quite likely that a photograph of such a visit 
>would exist.   Any help please?
>
>Christopher Southcombe
>
>
>
>
>
>
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