ROBES and a dagger worn by Tremadog-born Lawrence of Arabia are at risk of being lost abroad, unless a British buyer is found to save them.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has placed two separate temporary export bars on the items in a bid to keep the items in the UK.

The asking prices are £122,500 for his dagger and £12,500 for his robes and he hopes a British institution will buy the relics.

Thomas Edward (TE) Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, was born in Tremadog on 16 August, 1888, in a house named Gorphwysfa, now known as Snowdon Lodge.

He gained notoriety by leading the Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

He worked closely with numerous Arab leaders and would always be seen in traditional Arab dress. The white silk robes were made in Mecca or Medina and he wears them in the 1919 oil portrait by Augustus John.

The steel and silver dagger was famously presented to him by Sherif Nasir in 1917 after the victory at Aqaba in Jordan, a scene featured in the Oscar winning film Lawrence of Arabia.

Lawrence posed with both the curved dagger – called a jambiya – and the robes while sitting for the sculptor Lady Kathleen Scott, the widow of Scott of the Antarctic, in 1921.

Mr Vaizey said: “T E Lawrence was one of the most extraordinary figures of the 20th Century.

“These robes and dagger are absolutely iconic and a key part of his enduring image.

“It is important that these classic objects remain in the UK.”

The decision to defer the export licences follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

The RCEWA made their recommendation on the grounds of both the robes and dagger’s close association with our history and national life.

RCEWA chairman, Sir Hayden Phillips said: “Although the depiction, in the film Lawrence of Arabia, of Lawrence leading a sweeping camel charge across the desert into Aqaba in 1917 is probably a romantic exaggeration – stunning though it is – the taking of Aqaba from the landward side, with the help of Auda Abu Tayi, a leader of the northern Howeitat, was an extraordinary feat and marked a crucial turning point in the campaign.

“The dagger was presented to Lawrence by Sherif Nasir in gratitude for Lawrence’s leadership and as a spontaneous mark of respect. The robes and dagger together form a crucial part of the images of Lawrence in painting, sculpture and photographs; and they are therefore an integral part of his life and our history.”

The decision on the export licence application for the robes will be deferred until 1 April 2016. This may be extended until 1 July 2016 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase the robes is made.