Middle Eastern and North African Portraits, circa 1860-circa 1889

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Summary

Title:
Middle Eastern and North African portraits
Dates:
circa 1860-circa 1889
Creators:
Sébah, Pascal, 1823-1886
Abstract:
The collection comprises 21 photographs taken between the 1860s and 1890s of Middle Eastern and North African individuals.
Extent:
21 photographic prints
Language:
Collection material is in French.
Preferred citation:

Middle Eastern and North African portraits, circa 1860-circa 1889, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 93.R.31

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa93r31

Background

Scope and content:

The collection comprises 21 albumen photographs taken between the 1860s and the 1890s of Middle Eastern and North African individuals. The photographs take the form of studio portraits or other posed shots, including genre scenes. Occupational portraits include porters, water carriers, a grocer, Arab theologians, a spice merchant, and musicians and dancers. The image captions identify many of the sitters, especially women, by their ethnicity. Genre scenes depict checkers players and a café scene. Countries represented by the images include Algeria, Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia.

Photographers are identified for 12 of the photographs; the remainder are by unidentified photographers.

Most of the prints are unmounted. The nineteenth century French captions present in the negative or written on the versos of the photographs have been used as titles for the individual photographs, and as such some titles may include language now considered to be racist or biased.

Biographical / historical:

The photographs in the collection were taken in the Middle East and North Africa by various photographers, known and unknown, between the 1860s and the 1880s.

Photographers are identified for 12 of the photographs: Pascal Sébah (4); Hippolyte Arnoux (2); Félix Bonfils (2); Béchard (1); Wilhelm Hammerschmidt (1); G. Lékégian (1); and Zangaki (1).

Acquisition information:
Acquired in 1993.
Processing information:

Processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn; finding aid encoded by Holly Larson with grant funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

Arrangement:

Arranged in a singles series: Series I. Middle Eastern and North African Portraits, circa 1860-circa 1889.

Physical location:
To access physical materials on site, go to the library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for access policy.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Beth Ann Guynn
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-05-14 13:51:14 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.

Preferred citation:

Middle Eastern and North African portraits, circa 1860-circa 1889, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 93.R.31

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa93r31

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website