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The Diamond and Wasp, Balaklava Harbor

Roger Fenton British
March, 1855
Not on view
Fenton’s view of the Black Sea port of Balaklava, which the British used as a landing point for their siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, shows a busy but orderly operation. The British naval ships, HMS Diamond and HMS Wasp, oversaw the management of transports into and out of the harbor, which explains the presence of ships and rowboats, as well as the large stack of crates near the rail track in the foreground. Against claims of "rough-and-tumble" mismanagement of Balaklava in the British press, Fenton (commissioned by a Manchester publisher to record the theater of war) offers documentation of a well-functioning port.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Diamond and Wasp, Balaklava Harbor
  • Artist: Roger Fenton (British, 1819–1869)
  • Date: March, 1855
  • Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
  • Dimensions: Image: 8 in. × 10 1/8 in. (20.3 × 25.7 cm)
    Mount: 19 5/16 × 24 3/4 in. (49 × 62.9 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Walther Collection, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.349
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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On the Beach, Hythe
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1860
Cossack Bay, Balaklava, Roger Fenton British, Salted paper print from glass negative
Cossack Bay, Balaklava
Roger Fenton
1855
Laughing Satyr, Roger Fenton British, Salted paper print from glass negative
Laughing Satyr
Roger Fenton
1854–58
Birth of St. John, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print
Birth of St. John
Roger Fenton
1857
The Temple. Collection of Antiquities, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print from glass negative
The Temple. Collection of Antiquities
Roger Fenton
1850s

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