Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Album of Photographs of Views of the Interior of the Ottoman Military Museum in the Former Church of St. Irene, Constantinople (Vues de Sainte Irène, Constantinople)

Photographer Abdullah Frères
1891
Not on view
Photographs by the firm of Abdullah Frères (1858–99), official photographers to the Ottoman court, provide a visual record of Istanbul and its monuments in the late nineteenth century. The present album contains thirty-three images of the exterior and interior of the former Byzantine church of St. Irene, which served from the late fifteenth century as the imperial Ottoman arsenal and from the end of the nineteenth century as the Turkish Military Museum. The photographs provide invaluable documentation of the arsenal’s displays of armor and weapons, including examples of Mamluk, Persian, and Ottoman origin, as well as some European arms, which today remain unpublished and largely unstudied.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Album of Photographs of Views of the Interior of the Ottoman Military Museum in the Former Church of St. Irene, Constantinople (Vues de Sainte Irène, Constantinople)
  • Photographer: Abdullah Frères (Ottoman, 1858–1899)
  • Date: 1891
  • Culture: Turkish
  • Medium: Albumen prints, paper, leather, textile, gold
  • Dimensions: L. 17 3/4 in. (45.1 cm); H. 13 in. (33.0 cm); W. 2 3/8 in. (6.0 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Howard Ricketts, in memory of collectors Roy and Neil Cole, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.649
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
[Studio Portrait: Person with Brooms, Syria], Abdullah Frères, Albumen silver print
[Studio Portrait: Person with Brooms, Syria]
Photography Studio Abdullah Frères
1860s–70s
Qur'an Manuscript, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; leather binding
Qur'an Manuscript
dated 1268 AH/1851–52 CE
Photographic Views in Madura, Part III, Linnaeus Tripe British, Albumen silver prints from paper negatives
Photographic Views in Madura, Part III
Linnaeus Tripe
Author Martin Norman
1858
Saber, Steel, jade (nephrite), gold, copper, diamond, Turkish
Saber
Turkish
Grip and guard, second half of the 17th century; blade, late 18th–19th century
Photographic Views in Madura, Part I, Linnaeus Tripe British, Albumen silver prints from paper negatives
Photographic Views in Madura, Part I
Linnaeus Tripe
Author Martin Norman
1858

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.