Islamic History and Photography: Karl Gröber's Bird's Eye View of Mecca and the Grand Mosque, 1926

Mecca Copperplate Photogravure Arabia Mecca

Photograph

Gröber, Karl. Bird's Eye View of Mecca, 1926. Original copperplate photogravure depicting Mecca, Islam's holiest city and the destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The elevated view records the historic urban setting of Mecca, home to the Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred or Grand Mosque) and the Kaaba, toward which Muslims worldwide direct their daily prayers. Published in 1926, the image dates from the early rule of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud over the Hejaz, following his conquest of Mecca in 1924 and assumption of the title King of the Hejaz in 1926. The illustration preserves a photographic view of the holy city during a period of political transition, decades before the extensive urban redevelopment and mosque expansions of the later twentieth century.
Gröber, Karl (photographer). Bird's Eye View of Mecca. 1926. Original copperplate photogravure after a photograph by Gröber, published as an illustration in the first edition of a 1926 book containing his text and photogravures. Sheet measures approximately 8.25" x 10.25", with a printed area of approximately 8.5" x 6.25". The elevated perspective presents a panoramic view of Mecca, recording the city's buildings and urban topography. The copperplate photogravure process reproduces the tonal gradations and architectural detail of the original photograph.
Mecca had been under Ottoman sovereignty until the Arab Revolt of 1916, after which it formed part of the Hashemite Kingdom of the Hejaz before coming under Saudi control in 1924. Gröber's 1926 publication belongs to this transitional period in the city's modern history. The original photogravure provides a contemporary visual record of Mecca before the major architectural alterations and expansions undertaken in subsequent decades.

Item #14422

Price: $225.00