Wet collodion on
glass 23.5 x 29.5 cm Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago |
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Femme
turque, by Zangaki.Through her transparent veil, a purported
"Turkish lady" gazes coyly past the camera. Studio portraits were often
carefully staged, the models wearing an assortment of their own clothes
combined with costumes and props belonging to the photographer. In one
instance, the Khedive Ismail gave the Viennese painter Carl Huber the old
Musaffir Khan palace in Cairo as a studio. Huber and his friend then
proceeded to employ female Egyptian street vendors as models. Their
special interest was creating photographs that gave life to Western harem
fantasies, and one of Huber's guests noted that the women soon ran about
the palace dressing and behaving just like a fancier of the Arabian Nights
would wish. All of the surviving studio portraits by Zangaki are
considerably more tame.
Signed at lower left "Zangaki"; caption at lower right "Nr. 805 Femme
turque."
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