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The Court of the Lions at the Alhambra

Photograph
1854 (photographed)
Place of origin

Object Type
A stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles and mounted side by side on a card.. This gives the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when the stereograph is viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it. Viewing stereographs was a popular amusement from the 1850s until the early 20th century.

Places
This photograph shows part of a court in the old citadel and royal palace of the Alhambra in the city of Granada in southern Spain. The ornate style of the architecture is known as 'Moorish' (after the Muslims of mixed Arab, Spanish and Berber origins who ruled southern Spain between the 8th and the 15th centuries) or Islamic. The main sections of the building were begun in the 14th century. In the 19th century the Alhambra court was such a popular site that it was replicated in the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, London in 1851.

Subject Depicted
A printed caption on the reverse of this stereograph reads: 'The Court of the Lions - so called from a massive stone fountain which is placed in its centre guarded on every side by those animals... a fitter locality for the enjoyment of that Eastern luxury, a cool retreat from the intense heat without, cannot well be imagined, possessing all the requirements for the indulgence of sensuality and repose.'

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Court of the Lions at the Alhambra (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print mounted on glass
Brief description
Photograph, Stereoscopic card, 'The Alhambra Court in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham', London, albumen print, 1854
Physical description
Albumen print mounted on glass depicting The Court of the Lions at the Alhambra, Granada.
Dimensions
  • Height: 8.6cm
  • Width: 17.8cm
Dimensions checked: Measured;
Gallery label
(27/03/2003)
British Galleries:
STEREOSCOPE AND STEREOGRAPHS

Various dates, 1854-1901

This stereoscope is typical of those used in Victorian homes for education and amusement. Stereographs (paired photographs taken from slightly different angles) were placed in the holder and then adjusted until the viewer saw the scene in three dimensions.
Places depicted
Summary
Object Type
A stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles and mounted side by side on a card.. This gives the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when the stereograph is viewed through a stereoscope designed to hold it. Viewing stereographs was a popular amusement from the 1850s until the early 20th century.

Places
This photograph shows part of a court in the old citadel and royal palace of the Alhambra in the city of Granada in southern Spain. The ornate style of the architecture is known as 'Moorish' (after the Muslims of mixed Arab, Spanish and Berber origins who ruled southern Spain between the 8th and the 15th centuries) or Islamic. The main sections of the building were begun in the 14th century. In the 19th century the Alhambra court was such a popular site that it was replicated in the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, London in 1851.

Subject Depicted
A printed caption on the reverse of this stereograph reads: 'The Court of the Lions - so called from a massive stone fountain which is placed in its centre guarded on every side by those animals... a fitter locality for the enjoyment of that Eastern luxury, a cool retreat from the intense heat without, cannot well be imagined, possessing all the requirements for the indulgence of sensuality and repose.'
Collection
Accession number
58-1939

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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