Blog post: K.A.C. Creswell’s Middle East Views at the V&A
Read
Digitising K.A.C. Creswell’s International Photographic Collections
Creating a public online archive of Creswell’s photographic collections through collaboration
Latest Updates
About the Project
Generously funded by the Barakat Trust, the project develops a searchable digital archive to bring together K.A.C. Creswell’s photographs of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Tunisia and Spain, housed in international institutions; making some of the photos available online for the first time.
Context
Sir Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell (1879-1974) is a pioneer of Islamic architectural scholarship. During World War I posted in Cairo, Aleppo then Jerusalem, he produced an invaluable photographic archive on the region’s Islamic architectural heritage. He later taught at Fuad University (now Cairo University) and the American University in Cairo. As a very skilled photographer, he understood the importance of creating accurate visual records on monuments and sites. He dedicated his life to publish his photographs and studies in ‘Early Muslim Architecture’ and ‘Muslim Architecture of Egypt’.
Aim
The project is a collaboration between the V&A, the American University in Cairo (AUC), the Ashmolean Museum, the Berenson Library at the Harvard University Center for the Study of Italian Renaissance at Villa I Tatti, the Fine Arts Library at Harvard University (FAL), and the private collection of Dr Amal Mahfouz to study, digitise and catalogue Creswell’s photographs and make them accessible online. The V&A was first to acquire Creswell’s prints between 1921-1939, with a total of 3,374 items; the digital archive will enable a more extensive, wider and freely accessible use of them.
Outcomes
The creation of the online archive will gather for the first time a complete set of Creswell’s photographic collection from all the monuments and sites he has visited and surveyed. As a result, this will facilitate and support further research on Islamic architecture.
The Team
Dr Omniya Abdel Barr
Barakat Trust Research Fellow, V&A
Omniya is an an architect and historian of Islamic art and architecture and holds a PhD on Islamic history from Provence University, Aix-Marseille (2015), with a thesis titled: ‘L’art urbain du Caire Mamlouk, manières de faire et enjeux sociaux’, an M ... Read more
o.abdelbarr@vam.ac.uk
Project Partners
Private collection of Dr Amal Mahfouz
Events
Display: Four Cities through Creswell's Lens: Cairo, Jerusalem, Aleppo and Baghdad
This display brings together images by K.A.C Creswell (1879-1974) which capture views of four major Middle Eastern cities in the early 20th century.
V&A South Kensington, Islamic Middle East, Gallery 42
21 May 2022
Culture in Crisis: From Cairo to Aleppo; exploring the photographic archive of K.A.C. Creswell
Join us for an in-depth exploration of a unique archive of Middle Eastern topographical photographs dating from the early-20th century.
V&A South Kensington, NAL Centre Room
3 November 2017
As an arts and heritage charity, The Barakat Trust works to protect, promote, and study the art, architecture, and heritage of the Islamic world. In almost 40 years we have supported over 800 projects across dozens of countries. Our projects include rescue conservation work on sites that face destruction; training workshops that teach communities how to protect their heritage; archaeological excavations and major academic studies to improve our knowledge of the subject; studentships to train the next generation of specialists; and the development of publications, museum events, and even a major video game to drive forward public appreciation of this beautiful part of art history.
More Research Projects
Header image: Ornament on dome of the funerary khanqah of Mamluk Emir Sunqur al-Sa'di (Hasan Sadaqa), Cairo. 1916 to 1921 (photographed). Purchased from Professor Sir K.A.C. Creswell, 1921