16 Items in this Learning Collection
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Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

La Pointe du Sérai

Accession Number
1990/2.23

Title
La Pointe du Sérai

Artist(s)
J. Pascal and Joaillier Sébah

Artist Nationality
Turkish (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1888-1910

Medium & Support
albumen print on paper

Dimensions
9 13/16 in x 12 3/8 in (24.92 cm x 31.43 cm);20 in x 16 in (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Howard and Margaret Bond

Subject matter
In this photograph, the viewer looks across a strand of the Golden Horn toward the so-called Pointe du Sérail (in Turkish: Sarayburnu; in English: Seraglio Point), a hilly peninsula in central Istanbul on which stands the Topkapı Palace complex—one of the official residences of the Ottoman sultan. Numerous ships and smaller boats signal nineteenth-century Istanbul's position as a prominent and busy seaport. Sébah and Joaillier, in fact, juxtapose aspects that show Istanbul's modern role as an important economic center with various elements of the city's historic past; for instance, the distinctive forms of the Topkapı Palace, the Hagia Sofia, and the Blue Mosque are all visible from this vantage. 

Physical Description
View down onto a busy seaport populated by numerous steamships and smaller watercraft. A sliver of land with various towers and domed structures stretches across the horizon line in the distance. 

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Middle East
city
cityscapes (representations)
cultural landscapes
harbors
imperial palaces
merchant vessels
mosques (buildings)
peninsulas
seascapes
ships
steamships
travel photography

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted