Jérusalem, Enceinte du Temple, Porte hérodienne

Tucked into a corner, Salzmann’s camera captures a small portion of Jerusalem’s layered walls. At right, a pediment is interrupted by the neighboring wall, while the outline of a pointed arch is visible in the lower left. With these architectural forms, Salzmann theorized that there survived portions of the temple built by Herod the Great in the first century b.c. and destroyed by Roman forces in a.d. 70. The identification was a radical departure from French archaeological tradition and transformed anonymous fragments into material evidence of the biblical era.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Jérusalem, Enceinte du Temple, Porte hérodienne
  • Artist: Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824–1872)
  • Printer: Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille (French, active 1851–55)
  • Date: 1854
  • Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
  • Dimensions: Image: 32.9 x 23.1 cm (12 15/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
    Mount: 59.5 x 44.5 cm (23 7/16 x 17 1/2 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.100.373.7
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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