Portrait of Muhammad al Auf ...

Portrait of Muhammad al Auf, a tribesman of the Bayt Mbarik lineage of Rashid Bedouin and one of Wilfred Thesiger's travelling companions, at the encampment of Muhammad near Bir al Tawil in the Ramlat ar Rabbad sands. Muhammad al Auf sits holding a piece of cloth across his lap. He is leaning on a pile of equipment, including blankets, a rifle and a cartridge belt. In the background a parched plant grows out of the sand. Muhammad, a sheikh of the Rashid Bedouin, and his sons hosted Wilfred Thesiger's party at his encampment for a number of days in December 1946 during Wilfred Thesiger's first crossing of the Empty Quarter (Rub' al Khali).

Due to the nature of these images, prints will reproduce any signs of age, wear or damage that occurred before they were archived by the Pitt Rivers Museum.