Al-Wahhāb, Abdu Rabbih, compiler

Description

Captions written on mounts in Arabic or Judeo Arabic.Album covers are made of carved wood and tooled and painted leather set into brass backings and closed with brass hinges; decorations are in a North African artisanal style comprised of calligraphic and geometric elements. Album is housed in carved wooden box.Box cover: written as tugra (i.e. in the style of an Ottoman ruler's signature), the carving bears the names of two brothers, Kheireddine and Arrouj, famous 16th-century corsairs.On the album cover a tugra written partially in combination of colloquial and classsical Arabic reads: Algiers/Tunis. Do not look at the beauty of appearances, look at your deeds. Appearance is not as important as the inner self.The inscription on the brass inner cover reads in the center: I start with the name of God; and in the border: In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful (first sura of the Qurʼan).Title page reads: Author: Abdu Rabbih al-Wahhāb - Fernand tunisi baldati min Kusa [?] (called Gabriel the Christian, in the year 1881).The album contains photographs of the Maghreb region of North Africa. The first half features views of Algeria and Tunisia. There are images of mosques, tombs, and palaces, as well as local neighborhoods and streets. Natural sites, such as gorges, oases and desert areas are also depicted, as are views of Roman ruins. The second half is devoted to portraits of a variety of North African peoples. These are mainly studio portraits of prostitutes and dancers from various ethnic groups, although...

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