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Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry, Mission scientifique de Mr. Ernest Chantre
2018.R.23
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Contributing Institution: Special Collections
Title: Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry, Mission scientifique de Mr. Ernest Chantre sous-directeur du Muséum de Lyon dans la haute
Mésopotamie, le Kurdistan et le Caucase
Creator: Barry, Maximillien-Étienne-Émile, 1843-1910
Identifier/Call Number: 2018.R.23
Physical Description: 2.75 Linear Feet(2 boxes: 57 photographs on 56 sheets and 1 map in 1 portfolio)
Date: 1881
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
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Abstract: The portfolio documenting Ernest Chantre's scientific mission to the Caucasus, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia, undertaken between
March and September 1881, contains 57 albumen photographs taken by Captain Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry and one lithographed
map showing the expedition's route. The photographs primarily document the Kurdistan portion of the mission which began in
Trabzon, on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey, and proceeded on to Poti, Kutaisi, Goti and Tbilisi in the Caucasus.
During the expedition Chantre explored some of the oldest continuously inhabited towns and cities in the world. The photographs
record both ancient archaeological and contemporary urban sites. Portraits of inhabitants encountered along the way include
those of Mingrelian, Kurdish and Armenian peoples. Also present are scenes of daily life and landscapes.
Language of Material: Collection material is in French.
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Library Reproductions and Permissions .
The portfolio is arranged in a single series: Series I. Mission scientifique de Mr. Ernest Cantre sous-directeur du Muséum
de Lyon dans la haute Mésopotamie, le Kurdistan et le Caucase, 1881.
Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry (1843-1910), the son of a history professor in Toulouse, France, was a career military officer
who rose to the rank of Brigadier General. In 1881, when a captain, he obtained a five-month leave to accompany Ernest Chantre's
scientific mission to the Caucasus, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. As a colonel he organized the defense of Le Havre in 1899.
Sources consulted:
- "Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry," http://military-photos.com/barry.htm
Open for use by qualified researchers.
The collection was digitized by the repository in 2019 and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2018r23
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 2018.
Maximilien-Étienne-Émile Barry, Mission scientifique de Mr. Ernest Chantre sous-directeur du Muséum de Lyon dans la haute
Mésopotamie, le Kurdistan et le Caucase, 1881, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accessionno. 2018.R.23.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2018r23
Beth Ann Guynn and Nieves Maria Rocha processed the collection and wrote the finding aid in 2019.
Scope and Content of Collection
The French archaeologist and anthropologist, Ernest Chantre (1843-1924), was the assistant director of the Muséum de Lyon,
and was an instructor in anthropology and geology. Between 1873 and 1913 he took part in several scientific missions to Kurdistan,
Asia Minor, and North Africa. His illustrated monographs recording his expeditions include five volumes on the Caucasus; two
on Tripoli, Tunis and Algeria; and one each on Transcaucasia, Cappadocia and Egypt and Nubia.
The portfolio documenting Ernest Chantre's scientific mission to the Caucasus, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia, undertaken between
March and September 1881, contains 57 albumen photographs on 56 sheets and one lithographed map showing the expedition's route.
The photographs, taken by Captain Maximilien-Étienne-Émile-Barry, mainly chart the Kurdistan portion of the mission that began
in Trabzon, on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey, and proceeded on to Poti, Kutaisi, Goti and Tbilisi in the Caucasus.
The expedition's route then turned south into Armenia, visiting Yerevan, and heading on to Diyarbakir (Diarbékir), Turkey
and Orfa, Syria in northern Kurdistan, before ending in Aleppo. During the expedition Chantre explored some of the oldest
continuously inhabited towns and cities in the world. Barry's photographs record both archaeological sites and contemporary
urban views. Portraits of inhabitants encountered along the way include Mingrelian, Kurdish and Armenian peoples; some local
notables are identified by name. Also present are scenes of daily life and landscapes.
The portfolio has tan covers with string ties; the title is printed in black on the front board. Each mount bears the running
title printed above the image:
Mission scientifique de Mr. Ernest Chantre sous-directeur du Muséum de Lyon dans la haute Mésopotamie, le Kurdistan et le
Caucase
; below the title twenty-three mounts include a wet-stamped credit line: Photographie de Mr. le Capitaine Barry. Image titles
are handwritten below each photograph. Forty-three photographs are numbered in the negative.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Albumen prints -- Kurdistan -- 19th century
Kurds -- Middle East -- Portraits
Caucasia -- Description and travel
Kurdistan -- Description and travel
Portfolios (groups of works) -- Kurdistan -- 19th century
Photographs, Original
Chantre, Ernest, 1843-1924