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Lot Essay
British photographers James Robertson and Felice Beato met in Malta in 1850 and established their Constantinople based photographic studio ca 1853 under the name "Robertson & Beato", sometime referred to as "Robertson & Beato and co."
Even though the photographs in our album are signed "Robertson & Beato" it is not clear at first whether it is Felice or his younger brother Antonio who is behind the name Beato. The siblings indeed worked together, Antonio being sometimes referred to as the 'co.' in "Robertson & Beato and co.", and they occasionally shared a signature. However, since Felice was taking photographs in the Far East at the time when our photographs were taken we can safely attribute them to his younger brother Antonio.
At a time when modes of transportation were still limited Robertson and the Beato brothers' photographic records of the Meditteranean Basin and Asia were seminal in the development of their compatriot's taste for the Orient. Of particular interest is the photograph in our album titled 'Tombs of the Mamelukes below the Citadel' which according to Caroline Williams (Nezar AlSayyad, Irene A. Bierman, Nasser O. Rabbat (eds.),Making Cairo Medieval, Oxford, 2005, p.115) was even used as the backdrop of Jean-Lon Gréme's 'General Bonaparte in Cairo'.
The photographs in this album include:
No. 1 Lacking
No. 2 Mosquée de Sultan Hassan [Mosque of the Sultan Hassan]
No. 3 Fontaine dans la Cour de la Mosquée de la Citadelle. [Fountain in the courtyard of the mosque of the Citadel].
No. 4 Porte de la Citadelle [Gate of the Citadel]
No. 5 Mosquée de la Mahmoudié [Mosque of Muhammad Pasha]
No. 6 Mosquée de l'Emir Yam [The Funerary Mosque of Emir Qanibay Qara]
No. 7 Rue de la Citadelle [View of the darb al-Ahmar]
No. 8 Rue au Caire [View of darb al-Ahmar
No. 9 Vue générale de Caire prise de Mont Katam [A view of Cairo from the Mokattam hills]
No. 10 La mosquée de la Citadelle [Muhammad 'Ali Pasha Mosque]
No. 11 Tombeaux des Mamlukes [Mamluk tombs]
No. 12 Le Mont Katam et la Mosquée d'Omar [Shahin al-Khalwati Funerary Complex]
No. 13 Tombeau des Califes [Sultan Qansuh Abu Sa'id Mausoleum]
No. 14 Mosquée de Sultan Barkouk [Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq Funerary Complex at the Northern Cemetry]
No. 15 Tombeaux des Kalifs [The Funerary Complex of Inal]
No. 16 Mosquée d'Ayet Bey [The Funerary Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]
No. 17 Mosquée des Califs [Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq Funerary Complex at the Northern Cemetry]
No. 18 L'Arbe de la Vierge [Tree of the Holy Virgin]
No. 19 Le Barrage [The Dam at Aswan]
No. 20 Les Pyramides [The Pyramids at Giza]
No. 21 Le Sphynx et les Pyramides [The Sphinx and the Pyramides at Giza]
No. 22 Le Sphynx [The Sphynx]
No. 23 Vue generale prize de Mont Arabe [View of Cairo from the Mokattam hills]
No. 24 Vue générale de Caire [General view of Cairo]
No. 25 Tombeaux des Mamluks avec le mont Katam [View of Mamluk tombs with the Mokattam hills]
No. 26 Vue de Caire [View of Cairo]
No. 27 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 28 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 29 Fontaine de l'Habenia [View of a Sabil, possibly Khayrbak]
No. 30 Rue de Habeniakhan (?) [Cairo street view]
No. 31 Mosqée de L'Habenia [The Mausoleum of Khayrbak]
No. 32 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 33 Tombeaux des Califs et des Mamluks [A view of the Northern Cemetary]
Even though the photographs in our album are signed "Robertson & Beato" it is not clear at first whether it is Felice or his younger brother Antonio who is behind the name Beato. The siblings indeed worked together, Antonio being sometimes referred to as the 'co.' in "Robertson & Beato and co.", and they occasionally shared a signature. However, since Felice was taking photographs in the Far East at the time when our photographs were taken we can safely attribute them to his younger brother Antonio.
At a time when modes of transportation were still limited Robertson and the Beato brothers' photographic records of the Meditteranean Basin and Asia were seminal in the development of their compatriot's taste for the Orient. Of particular interest is the photograph in our album titled 'Tombs of the Mamelukes below the Citadel' which according to Caroline Williams (Nezar AlSayyad, Irene A. Bierman, Nasser O. Rabbat (eds.),Making Cairo Medieval, Oxford, 2005, p.115) was even used as the backdrop of Jean-Lon Gréme's 'General Bonaparte in Cairo'.
The photographs in this album include:
No. 1 Lacking
No. 2 Mosquée de Sultan Hassan [Mosque of the Sultan Hassan]
No. 3 Fontaine dans la Cour de la Mosquée de la Citadelle. [Fountain in the courtyard of the mosque of the Citadel].
No. 4 Porte de la Citadelle [Gate of the Citadel]
No. 5 Mosquée de la Mahmoudié [Mosque of Muhammad Pasha]
No. 6 Mosquée de l'Emir Yam [The Funerary Mosque of Emir Qanibay Qara]
No. 7 Rue de la Citadelle [View of the darb al-Ahmar]
No. 8 Rue au Caire [View of darb al-Ahmar
No. 9 Vue générale de Caire prise de Mont Katam [A view of Cairo from the Mokattam hills]
No. 10 La mosquée de la Citadelle [Muhammad 'Ali Pasha Mosque]
No. 11 Tombeaux des Mamlukes [Mamluk tombs]
No. 12 Le Mont Katam et la Mosquée d'Omar [Shahin al-Khalwati Funerary Complex]
No. 13 Tombeau des Califes [Sultan Qansuh Abu Sa'id Mausoleum]
No. 14 Mosquée de Sultan Barkouk [Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq Funerary Complex at the Northern Cemetry]
No. 15 Tombeaux des Kalifs [The Funerary Complex of Inal]
No. 16 Mosquée d'Ayet Bey [The Funerary Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]
No. 17 Mosquée des Califs [Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq Funerary Complex at the Northern Cemetry]
No. 18 L'Arbe de la Vierge [Tree of the Holy Virgin]
No. 19 Le Barrage [The Dam at Aswan]
No. 20 Les Pyramides [The Pyramids at Giza]
No. 21 Le Sphynx et les Pyramides [The Sphinx and the Pyramides at Giza]
No. 22 Le Sphynx [The Sphynx]
No. 23 Vue generale prize de Mont Arabe [View of Cairo from the Mokattam hills]
No. 24 Vue générale de Caire [General view of Cairo]
No. 25 Tombeaux des Mamluks avec le mont Katam [View of Mamluk tombs with the Mokattam hills]
No. 26 Vue de Caire [View of Cairo]
No. 27 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 28 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 29 Fontaine de l'Habenia [View of a Sabil, possibly Khayrbak]
No. 30 Rue de Habeniakhan (?) [Cairo street view]
No. 31 Mosqée de L'Habenia [The Mausoleum of Khayrbak]
No. 32 Rue à Caire [Cairo street view]
No. 33 Tombeaux des Califs et des Mamluks [A view of the Northern Cemetary]