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University of Michigan History of Art Visual Resources Collection

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Egyptian Mounted Prints Collection, 1831-1915

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Summary

Creator:
University of Michigan Visual Resources Collections
Abstract:
The archive contains 53 collodion prints depicting Egyptian architectural monuments (mosques, tombs, and palaces). Most of the photos include the photographer’s name, print number, and image description at the print’s bottom right corner. All but one print are mounted on board and include hand written identifications describing the image in English or French.
Extent:
53 prints
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Erin Platte and VRC staff, February 2014

Background

Scope and Content:

The Egyptian Mounted Prints collection contains approximately 53 mounted collodion prints depicting Egyptian and Middle Eastern architectural monuments from the 19th century. While the earliest trends in Egyptian photography depict ancient Egyptian architecture, this collection focuses on the Islamic and Coptic religious architecture of Cairo, produced by photographers active from the 1870-1890s. The photographs were taken by three prominent photography studios, the Maison Bonfils (5 photos), Adelphoi Zangaki (C. & G. Zangaki) (1 photo), and G. Lékégian & cie (48 photos). The photos primarily depict Egyptian architecture in mosques and gateways within Cairo. The collection includes approximately 8 photos which depict daily life in Cairo. Finally the collection includes two photos taken of furniture and decorations located in museums.

Biographical / Historical:

It is likely that the French painter, Horace Vernet, was the first person to produce a daguerreotype in Egypt. He photographed Pasha Mohammed Ali and the photo sparked a demand for this emerging medium in 1839. By the 1840s, expatriate photographers opened new businesses in Cairo by working to document Egypt’s past through its ancient architecture. French colonial photographers, such as Du Camp and Teynard, moved beyond the daguerreotype to use the paper calotype format that proved more suitable for fieldwork photography. However, since the calotype yielded hazy definition, it was soon replaced by the wet-collodion process beginning in 1951. Rather than photograph Egypt as a land in transition, foreign commercial photographers chose to represent an “authentic” Egypt bound to its ancient past. In 1865, the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid of Giza was photographed and the event sparked the popularization of Egyptology and Egyptmania. Archaeologists traveled to Egypt and photographed archaeological finds before removing them from site as they understood “to dig is to destroy.” Later the artifacts were sent to continental European museums. Commercial photo studios, such as Maison Bonfils, Gabriel Lékégian, and the Zangaki Brothers, benefited from the increased European tourism to the Maghreb and the Levant. Their albumen silver prints were marketed in international catalogues and sold as hand-held “cartes de visites” or post cards for European tourists visiting the Holy Land or making the Grand Tour.

Félix Bonfils (b. 1831- d. 1885)

In 1867, Félix Bonfils, his wife Lydie, and their two children left their home in Alès, France, and moved to Beirut, Lebanon. Bonfils had previous experience with the Beirut region from his time serving in the French army. The family believed that the area’s hot and dry climate would benefit their son, Adrien, who had a history of respiratory illness. Upon their arrival Félix and Lydie founded the Maison Bonfils, which grew into a prolific and well-known photo studio. The Bonfils family photographed throughout Egypt, Nubia, the Levant, Greece, and Turkey and advertised their work as, “Vues Photographiques de tout l’Orient.” Félix Bonfils received honors in Paris in 1878 and in Brussels in 1883. The family’s photographs feature different types of signatures with serial numbers next to them, though all of the Bonfils family worked to produce the images The signature “F. Bonfils” in black was used pre-1876 but also later used for 1872 architectural studies. Additionally “A. Bonfils” was used during the end of 1890s. M. Chavet’s 1878 text “Souvenirs de l’Orient” is regarded as the most important text on the history of the photographic studio.

Gabriel Lékégian (Active 1880s-90s)

Armenian photographer Gabriel Lékegain left Istanbul for Cairo in 1887, opening a studio near Shepherd’s hotel. Most expatriate photographers in Cairo at the time photographed the Egyptian aristocracy, but Lékégian lacked the necessary connections to follow suit. Instead he earned the title “Photographer to the British Army of Occupation”. Lekegian’s photos capture the ambiguity, cross-cultural power dynamics, and transposed desire characteristic of the 19th century encounter between Europe and the “Orient” called “Orientalism.” His Cairo photos were displayed at the 1892 Paris International Photography Exhibition and the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. His work won him a gold-metal and grand prize, respectively. The “Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l’Art Arabe” was founded in 1881 by Khedive Tawfik to document and preserve Islamic and Coptic monuments in Egypt. Lékégian was hired by the committee to photograph Islamic monuments. His photos range from the mundane to the monumental and capture market stalls, Coptic churches, Mosques, ancient Egyptian tombs. Contemporaries viewed Lékégian’s photos as art in their own right, but his prints also served as source material for Orientalist painters like Ludwig Deutsch and Horace Vernet. In 1895, Lekegian & Co. edited and published Max Herz’s “Catalogue Sommaire des Monuments Exposes dans le Musee National de l’Art Arabe.” Lekegian’s photos of Egypt are published in S.H. Leeder’s 1913 text, “Veiled Mysteries of Egypt: and the Religion of Islam” and his 1918 text the “Modern Sons of the Pharaohs: A Study of the Manners and Customs of the Copts of Egypt.”

The Zangaki Brothers (Active 1870s-1915)

George and Constantin Zangaki were Greek photographers who opened a commercial photo studio in Port Saïd and advertised their work as “Photographie Orientale: Zangaki Frères: Vues du Canal et d’Orient.” They collaborated with French photographer Hyppolite Arnoux (active 1860s-1900s) and Syrian-Armenian photographer Pascal Sébah. Sébah was particularly known for documenting the construction of the Suez Canal at Port Saïd. In 1905, their Port Saïd studio was located in Rue de la Division.

Acquisition Information:
1911
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by the photographer and the catalog number found on the prints.

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research by appointment only. Collection materials may not be reproduced without the permission of the Head of the Visual Resources Collections and according to department and collection policies.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Egyptian Mounted Prints Collection, Visual Resources Collections, Department of the History of Art, College of Literature, Science and the Arts, The University of Michigan

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Collection

Egyptian Mounted Prints Collection, 1831-1915
Total components 3
Last indexed 2025-02-09