Temple of Horus, Edfu (167. ? Temple.)

Today, the Temple of Horus is one of the best-preserved ancient Egyptian monuments, but when Girault visited, it was still buried under sand. The complete temple was rediscovered in the 1860s by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette. Girault was particularly taken with the fallen capital seen here, which he moved and photographed upside down in a separate image (at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris), giving it the appearance of an unfamiliar object.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Temple of Horus, Edfu (167. ? Temple.)
  • Artist: Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (French, 1804–1892)
  • Date: 1844
  • Medium: Daguerreotype
  • Dimensions: Image: 3 11/16 × 4 3/4 in. (9.3 × 12 cm)
  • Classification: 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 (2016.602)
  • Object Number: 2016.602
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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