Triumphal wagon.

Drawing, watercolour over pencil, 43 x 61 cm, wove paper, unsigned (foxing, age-related toning).

Under wooden frame (not studied outside frame).

Original design drawing for a triumphal chariot in a festive procession held in 1894, celebrating Peace after the Congo-Arab War (1831-1894). This was a conflict between Leopold's Congo Free State and various Zanzibari Arab slave traders led by Sefu bin Hamid, the son of Tippu Tip. Shown are the left side and back side of wagon, with allegorical figures such as Prosperity, the Congo, the Arts, and Labour, paying tribute to Belgica, seated on a throne. The draperies on the wagon are adorned with an alternating L (Leopold) and the star of the Congo Free State. The triumphal wagon may have been designed for the occasion of the (unofficial) World Exhibition held in Antwerp in 1894.