interpretation of 'unburnt brick-red complexion'

Hi all,

In class we're reading Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey. I've got an interpretative question about a phrase in the first few lines of this text: 'unburnt brick-red complexion'. Does 'unburnt' refer to complexion or to 'brick'? Some people in our class think that 'unburnt' expresses the fact that his (the) face is not burnt by the sun, and others believe that 'unburnt' means that we deal with the kind of brick that is not burnt in an oven but burnt by the sun (or hasn't been burnt yet). So in the first instance the colour of his face would be red without being burnt by the sun, and in the second his face would be the kind of red that matches with an unburnt brick.

What say you? (yes, I know the previous sentence isn't standard English...). I hope somone can shed some light on this matter.

Thanks, Jan

P.S.
The phrase in context, the first lines of The End of General Gordon:
His unassuming figure, short and slight, with its half-gliding, half-tripping motion, gave him a boyish aspect, which contrasted, oddly, but not unpleasantly, with the touch of grey on his hair and whiskers. There was the same contrast – enigmatic and attractive – between the unburnt brick-red complexion – the hue of the seasoned traveller – and the large blue eyes, with their look of almost childish sincerity. To the friendly inquirer, he would explain, in a low, soft, and very distinct voice, that he engaged in elucidating four questions – the site of Crucifixion, the line of division between the tribes of Benjam and Judah, the identification of Gibeon, and the position of the Garden of Eden.