Ramesseum, Thebes (201. Thèbes. 1844. 202 Rhamséion.)

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey

1844 · Daguerreotype · Photographs

The pillars of the thirteenth-century B.C. funerary temple of the pharaoh Rameses II, pictured here, incorporate figures of Osiris, the Egyptian god of death and resurrection. Before gilding the image, Girault purposefully swiped and erased the fragile image surface on all four sides, creating a handmade frame.

Artist

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey

Date

1844

Medium

Daguerreotype

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Moran Gift, in memory of Louise Chisholm Moran, Joyce F. Menschel Gift, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 2016 Benefit Fund, and Gift of Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, 2016 (2016.604)