Artwork Page for Ameer (Shere Ali)

Details / Information for Ameer (Shere Ali)

Series Title: Afghanistan, February 1880

Ameer (Shere Ali)

1878–80

John Burke

(Irish, 1845–1915)
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Culture
Ireland
Medium
albumen print
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2024.6.a
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

This album includes some of the earliest photographs of Afghanistan.

Description

The subject of this album is the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which was fought from 1878 to 1880. John Burke was the first photographer to photograph extensively in Afghanistan and the main photographer covering that conflict. The technology of the day did not permit action shots of battles. As is usual for early conflict photography, the pictures are landscapes of the sites of momentous incidents, views of camps and civil and military infrastructure, and portraits of the soldiers and their leaders.
A vertically oriented albumen print on cream paper depicts a bearded man seated facing our right in a cane-backed chair. A dark fur hat crowns his head in a dense mass. He wears a robe with light-colored scrolling embroidery on the chest and cuffs. His left hand rests on a sword hilt crossing his lap, while his right hand rests on his thigh. The sepia print highlights the chair's intricate, woven patterns.

Ameer (Shere Ali)

1878–80

John Burke

(Irish, 1845–1915)
Ireland

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