Queen Victoria bought this painting from the Patriotic Fund Amateur Exhibition in March 1854. The Royal Patriotic Fund (RPF) was created in that year. Queen Victoria was concerned for the well-being of the widows and orphans of British servicemen who had died in the Crimean War and she appealed for public donations. There was no state assistance at the time for the dependants of soldiers and sailors lost in conflict. The appeal was a great success and the RPF's Commissioners were able to make grants for hardship cases and to place orphans in schools.

Mary Anne Blaine travelled to Jordan with her husband, Roberton Blaine, in 1849, which appears to have been the inspiration for this painting. She exhibited four oil paintings at the Society of Female Artists' inaugural exhibition in 1857, all of Middle Eastern subjects. Mount Hor is depicted in the distance, indicating that this scene is located near the historic city of Petra, in Jordan.

Signed and dated: A ... Blaine [initials in monogram] 1854. Inscribed on the back with the name of the artist, the subject and the date, 1854.