Pyramids, Cheffren
Artist: J. Pascal Sébah (Turkish, 1872 - 1947)
Date: mid 19th-late 19th Century
Dimensions:
8 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (20.7 x 26.7 cm)
Medium: Albumen Print
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond
Object number: 1987.31
Label Text:From David Robert’s journal:
September 24 – This morning we rose early. Alexandria was right in front of us, with mosques and palm trees that gave it a different atmosphere from any I had ever breathed before…The bay was crowded with a large number of vessels, many of which were warships; our boat was soon surrounded by the most picturesque boatmen I have ever seen…
From David Robert’s journal:
December 5 – The fragment of a statue of Remeses [Ramesses] II is, however, the great wonder of the Memnonium. Hecataus says that it was the largest in Egypt. It was formed of one stupendous mass of syenite, or granite, from the quarries near Assouan, or Syene, and represented the king seated on a throne, with his hands on his knees. Its foot, judging from the fragment, must have been nearly eleven feet in length and four feet ten inches in breadth. The figure measures from shoulder to elbow twelve feet ten inches, twenty two feet four inches across the shoulders, and fourteen feet four inches from the neck to elbow. It is now been overthrown, and the colossal fragments lie scattered round the pedestal.
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel
From David Robert’s Journal:
November 9 – It is appalling to see these masterpieces of ancient art not only massacred by souvenir hunters but actually covered with the signatures of every Tomkins, Smith and Hopkins. One of the hands of the very best preserved colossus has been literally destroyed by these vandals who, not content with having taken a finger of the great statue as a souvenir of their deplorable exploit, have then had the gall to carve their stupid names on the very forehead of the god.
“Roberts described Abu Simbel as “the monument which alone makes the trip to Nubia worthwhile.” The colossi were in an exceptionally good state of preservation, undoubtedly due to the long period they had spent buried in the sand, which sheltered them from the ravages of time and the elements. However, in the few years that had elapsed since their discovery, the stupidity of Western travelers had already left its indelible mark; dozens of signatures carved in the stone ruined their solemnity, and the same vandals had removed numerous fragments to show off as souvenirs on their return home.” (Fabio Bourbon)
September 24 – This morning we rose early. Alexandria was right in front of us, with mosques and palm trees that gave it a different atmosphere from any I had ever breathed before…The bay was crowded with a large number of vessels, many of which were warships; our boat was soon surrounded by the most picturesque boatmen I have ever seen…
From David Robert’s journal:
December 5 – The fragment of a statue of Remeses [Ramesses] II is, however, the great wonder of the Memnonium. Hecataus says that it was the largest in Egypt. It was formed of one stupendous mass of syenite, or granite, from the quarries near Assouan, or Syene, and represented the king seated on a throne, with his hands on his knees. Its foot, judging from the fragment, must have been nearly eleven feet in length and four feet ten inches in breadth. The figure measures from shoulder to elbow twelve feet ten inches, twenty two feet four inches across the shoulders, and fourteen feet four inches from the neck to elbow. It is now been overthrown, and the colossal fragments lie scattered round the pedestal.
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel
From David Robert’s Journal:
November 9 – It is appalling to see these masterpieces of ancient art not only massacred by souvenir hunters but actually covered with the signatures of every Tomkins, Smith and Hopkins. One of the hands of the very best preserved colossus has been literally destroyed by these vandals who, not content with having taken a finger of the great statue as a souvenir of their deplorable exploit, have then had the gall to carve their stupid names on the very forehead of the god.
“Roberts described Abu Simbel as “the monument which alone makes the trip to Nubia worthwhile.” The colossi were in an exceptionally good state of preservation, undoubtedly due to the long period they had spent buried in the sand, which sheltered them from the ravages of time and the elements. However, in the few years that had elapsed since their discovery, the stupidity of Western travelers had already left its indelible mark; dozens of signatures carved in the stone ruined their solemnity, and the same vandals had removed numerous fragments to show off as souvenirs on their return home.” (Fabio Bourbon)
Not on view
In Collection(s)