In 1877 a series of engravings on the subject of the manifold expressions of Arab art that flourished in Cairo from the seventh until the end of the eighteenth century was sent to press by the publishers Ve A. Morel et Cie. Most of these works were created by Prisse d'Avennes (1807-1879), a distinguished scholar who, with the documentation collected during his many travels in the Middle East, gave a decisive contribution to the knowledge of Arabian, and especially Egyptian, art.
In the 200 plates presented by the French publishers, D'Avennes depicts palaces, mosques and minarets of the Egyptian capital with expertise and graphic skill (often livening them by the introduction of various figures in compliance with the taste of his time), dwelling in detail on architectural ornaments, wall decorations and furnishings.
Of great interest are also the engravings that reproduce glass panes, fabrics, carpets, armour and the decorations that adorned the pages of the Koran.
Later the French edition was revised and published by the Khayat Book and Publishing Company of Beirut, and it is in this same version, with all care devoted to its graphic presentation and to the chromatic effect of the illustrations, that D'Avennes's work is reproposed todays as precious witness to an art and culture of everlasting fascination.
3 volumes (size 480 x 620 mm) bound in buckram and leather with gold stamping on the front-boards and spines.
