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Gizeh: Excavated temple at the foot of the Sphinx

Photograph
4-3-1862 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Francis Bedford was born in Camden, London, in 1815. Starting out as a lithographer, he moved on to photography in 1853, a relatively new medium at the time. He regularly exhibited at the Royal Photogprahic Society, of which he became vice-president in 1861. In 1862 he joined the Prince of Wales on a royal tour from Cairo to Constantinople. On the way he recorded many historic sites, ruins and local architecture. This photograph of an excavation site was taken in Giza, Egypt, at the foot of the Sphinx. Bedford produced about 190 plates in four months. To do this he travelled with chemicals, 10 x 12 inch glass negatives, a tripod, a darkroom, lenses and a large camera. Upon return, Bedford published a selection of his photographs with Day & Son, and exhibited at the German Gallery on Bond Street. His photographs were well-received by the Illustrated London News, the British Journal of Photography and The Times. In 1867 he was rewarded a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris for his Middle Eastern views.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGizeh: Excavated temple at the foot of the Sphinx (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from a collodion-on-glass negative
Brief description
'Gizeh: Excavated Temple at the foot of the Sphinx', Albumen print from a collodion-on-glass negative, Francis Bedford, 1860-1862
Physical description
Albumen print of an archaeological site with a number of figures
Dimensions
  • Image height: 245mm
  • Image width: 295mm
  • Paper height: 350mm
  • Paper width: 448mm
Gallery label
Photo London: Beneath the Surface Somerset House 20 May - 24 August Francis Bedford (1815–94) Gizeh: Excavated temple at the foot of the Sphinx, 1862 Commissioned by Queen Victoria, Bedford accompanied the 20-year-old Prince of Wales on a four-month tour of the Middle East. He travelled with large numbers of glass plate negatives, chemicals, and a portable darkroom and produced about 190 images. A number of them were published and exhibited upon his return, revealing to the public far-off countries that only a select few were able to visit in person. Albumen print V&A Museum no. 53:654(20-5-2015)
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Francis Bedford was born in Camden, London, in 1815. Starting out as a lithographer, he moved on to photography in 1853, a relatively new medium at the time. He regularly exhibited at the Royal Photogprahic Society, of which he became vice-president in 1861. In 1862 he joined the Prince of Wales on a royal tour from Cairo to Constantinople. On the way he recorded many historic sites, ruins and local architecture. This photograph of an excavation site was taken in Giza, Egypt, at the foot of the Sphinx. Bedford produced about 190 plates in four months. To do this he travelled with chemicals, 10 x 12 inch glass negatives, a tripod, a darkroom, lenses and a large camera. Upon return, Bedford published a selection of his photographs with Day & Son, and exhibited at the German Gallery on Bond Street. His photographs were well-received by the Illustrated London News, the British Journal of Photography and The Times. In 1867 he was rewarded a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris for his Middle Eastern views.
Bibliographic reference
Sophie Gordon, Cairo to Constantinople. Francis Bedford's Photographs of the Middle East, Royal Collection Trust 2013 Stephanie Spencer, Francis Bedford, Landscape Photography and Nineteenth-Century British Culture, The Artist as Entrepreneur, Ashgate Publishing, 2011
Collection
Accession number
53654

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Record createdJuly 29, 2003
Record URL
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