Mesopotamia, Syria and Transjordan in the Archibald Creswell Photograph Collection of the Biblioteca Berenson

Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell (1879-1974) developed an early interest in Islamic architecture, considering photography as an essential tool for recording architectural artefacts. This volume presents the photographs that concern Mesopotamia, Syria and Jordan, kept today at the Biblioteca Berenson in Florence.

‘Anastasio’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in Islamic history and architecture and, more generally, cultural heritage and multimodal archaeology. I found the book a compelling introduction to monuments in the Middle East, especially given its relevance to topics including cultural heritage destruction, reconstruction and preservation.'' – Nora Al-Aati (2024): Antiquity, Vol. 98, Issue 399

‘A. Creswell’s photographs ... allow a much clearer approach to the architectural works still uncontaminated by alterations, reconstructions and even reinterpretations, many of them were carried out in the colonial period. Finally, in agreement with the author himself, the book is an indispensable resource in the debate on the reconstruction of historic monuments, keeping in mind that different strategies are being considered for the original recovery of many historic monuments before many of the conflicts that have taken place in the region, the most recent the one that struck Iraq and is still raging in Syria today. Therefore, this book is a very useful resource for many specialists in different scientific and artistic fields who approach Islamic art and archaeology in the Near East.’ - Juan Álvarez García (2024): BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXXI N° 3-4

Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell (1879-1974) developed an early interest in Islamic architecture, which became his main area of research at the time of his military posting in Egypt, in 1916. His publications are still fundamental research tools for scholars in the field. Creswell considered photography as an essential tool for recording architectural artefacts, and this volume deals with the photographs that concern Mesopotamia, Syria and Jordan, kept today at the Biblioteca Berenson, of the Villa I Tatti, Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, in Florence. On the whole, they can be dated between 1919 and 1930. Many of the sites and monuments photographed by Creswell are still standing, but there are many others that no longer exist, or have been significantly modified. Geolocations for all the photographed monuments can also be viewed on Google My Maps.

For this reason, the Creswell photo collection is an exceptional resource for the study of ancient monuments, especially for any conservation and restoration project.

• | Author: Stefano Anastasio
• | Publisher: Archaeopress
• | Publication Date: Apr 06, 2023
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781803274553
• | ISBN-10: 1803274557