Content
Genre/Subject Matter:

This photograph shows four men and a camel standing in a flat, stony area. Behind them tall hills rise. The title suggests that one of the men is Sharif Yahya, ‘a son of Sharif Ahmed, whose father was the famous Grand-Sharif Abdulmutalib [bin Ghalib (1880–82)], who died in 1886’.

The camel’s reigns are held by Yahya’s slave; to his left, is Yahya himself, in his riding habit, while the two men on the far left are sharifs of a lower rank.

The sharif on the left wears a white thawb underneath a dark-coloured outer robe. At his waist a scimitar or long janbiya – the curved dagger that is traditionally worn at the waist in countries on the Arabian Peninsula – is held in place by a belt. The sharif second from left wears white trousers, a dark-coloured outer robe and striped shirt with a janbiya at his waist. Both men wear white keffiyehs held in place by dark-coloured agals and sandals. Each holds a stick in his right hand.

Yahya and his slave both also wear keffiyehs held in place by dark-coloured agals but while Yahya’s is dark, his slave’s is white. Both men wear belts held up at the torso by decorated neck halters. Yahya holds a stick in his left hand; his slave holds a long-barrelled rifle upright by the upper barrel.

The camel is shown bearing a ‘saddle cloth, richly embroidered with silver [thread], or batāt ’. Tassels hang from a decorative harness as well as from the saddle itself.

The negative has had hand-work applied, causing it to take on a drawing-like quality in places.

Inscriptions:

Above image, on the right, in ink: ‘XVII’

Extent and format
1 collotype print
Physical characteristics
Dimensions:

185 x 241 mm

Format:

Collotype print, pasted into volume

Condition:

The print is in good condition with minor surface dirt and light abrasions throughout.

Foliation:

‘XVII’

Process:

Collotype

Written in
Arabic in Arabic script