The Adelphoi Zangaki (Zangaki Brothers), known by their probable initials C. and G. Zangaki,Zangaki Brothers
''Luminous-Lint'' were two brothers of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

origin, active as photographers in

Ottoman Egypt The Eyalet of Egypt (, ) operated as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1867. It originated as a result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) and the a ...

from the 1860s through to the 1890s. They specialized in photographing ancient monuments and scenes of everyday life, producing photographic prints for the tourist trade.C. & G. Zangaki Photographs Collection, 1870–1875
''Princeton University Library Finding Aids''. Note: The ''Zangaki Collection Finding Aid'' at Princeton University lists them as functioning from 1870 to 1875RCS Index to Photographers
, ''Cambridge University Library''. Note: The Royal Commonwealth Society Photographers Index database at Cambridge University lists them as in the 1880s and 1890s. They occasionally worked with the French photographer Hippolyte Arnoux in

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

, documenting the works on the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. Further, they were among the first commercial photographers to produce large scale images of late 19th- century Egypt.

Background

Little is known about the Zangaki brothers, except their initials, C. and G., and that they worked out of Port Said and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

from around the 1860s through to at least the 1890s. Many of the Zangaki photographs are signed with a brother's initial and/or a place of business, e.g., "C. Zangaki" or "Zangaki, Cairo" or occasionally "A. Zangaki".Perez, Nissan N. ''Focus East: Early photography in the Near East (1839–1885)''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, p. 233. For a long time, it was believed that "A. Zangaki" was a single photographer. However, with the discovery of a signboard with the name "Adelphoi Zangaki", it became clear that these were brothers. Scholars believe that their names were George and Constantinos (or Costas),Apostolou, Irini. "Photographes Français et Locaux en Orient Méditerranéen au XXIX siècle: Quelques cas de collaboration". ''Bulletin du Centre de Recherche Français à Jérusalem'', Vol. 24, 2013 (translated from French) and that they were born on the Greek island of

Milos Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group. The ''Venus d ...

, while others have suggested that they were

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

. However, no definitive evidence pertaining to their place and date of birth extists. How they came to learn photography is also unclear. However, shortly after their arrival in Egypt they had become established photographers with studios in Cairo and Port Said.

Early photographers in Egypt

By the 1850s, tourist travel to Egypt created strong demand for photographs as souvenirs. A small group of early photographers, mostly of French origin, made their way to Cairo and the

Nile valley The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

to capitalise on this demand. These pioneering photographers included

Félix Bonfils Félix Adrien Bonfils (8 March 1831 – 1885) was a French photographer and writer who was active in the Middle East. He was one of the first commercial photographers to produce images of the Middle East on a large scale and amongst the fir ...

(1831–1885);

Gustave Le Gray Jean-Baptiste Gustave Le Gray (; 30 August 1820 – 30 July 1884)Le Corre, Florence "Translated from the catalogue ''Une visite au camp de Châlons sous le Second Empire: photographies de Messieurs Le Gray, Prévot...'', Paris: musée de l'Armée, ...

(1820–1884), Emile Béchard (his brother Henri signed some of his photographs; active 1860–1890); the British-Italian brothers

Antonio Beato Antonio Beato (1835–1906), also known as Antoine Beato, was an Italian-British photographer. He is noted for his genre works, portraits, views of the architecture and landscapes of Egypt and other locations in the Mediterranean region. He wa ...

(c. 1832–1906) and

Felice Beato Felice Beato (1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, ...

(1832–1909) as well as Hippolyte Arnoux (active between 1860 and 1890) and some years later,

Gabriel Lekegian Gabriel Lekegian (1853 – c. 1920), also known as G. Lékégian, was an Armenian painter and photographer, active in Constantinople and Cairo from the 1880s to the 1920s. Little is known about his life, but he left an important body of work unde ...

(1853–1920).

Career

Photographs taken by the Zangaki brothers are found in tourists' albums assembled in the Middle East in the second half of the 19th century. From their Port Said studio, they were ideally situated to sell to Europeans visiting Egypt as part of a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

. The Zangaki brothers traveled along the Nile, accompanied by a horse-drawn

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

wagon to document the Egyptian scenery, architecture and events. Images included views of the pyramids at Giza or the

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

and cities, such as

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, as well of Egyptians going about their daily lives, e.g., a teacher and pupils, men working by the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

or women at home. They may have worked with the French photographer Hippolyte Arnoux to document the construction of the Suez Canal. Most scholars believe that Arnoux was the official Suez photographer and that the Zangaki Brothers may have assisted him. However, the precise nature of their relationship is unclear, since Arnoux's biography is just as enigmatic as that of the Zangaki brothers. Their relationship soured in 1874, when Arnoux instigated litigation against the Zangaki Brothers and one Spiridion Antippa, accusing them of usurping his

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

. Arnoux was successful, as on 29 June 1876, the Court of

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

recognized them as "guilty of usurpation of artistic and industrial property and unfair competition." In Palestine they photographed areas of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

Mar Saba The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas, known in Arabic and Syriac as Mar Saba ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܣܒܐ, ar, دير مار سابا; he, מנזר מר סבא; el, Ἱερὰ Λαύρα τοῦ Ὁσίου Σάββα τοῦ Ἡγιασμέ� ...

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

and the Jerusalem railway. Some of their original glass negatives as well as prints are in the collection of the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...

Recognition

Art historian John Hannavy acknowledged that the Zangaki brothers "produced some of the finest images" of the late 19th century in Egypt. Mainly produced for the expectations of the flourishing European tourist trade in Egypt, they are highly prized by historians and collectors for their representations of life at the time. File:Sphynx et la grande pyramide..jpg, The Sphynx and the Great Pyramid at Giza File:Zangaki. 0975. Louxor ensemble des colonnades.jpg,

Colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

File:Zangaki. 0728. Isis (Dendérah).jpg,

Dendera Dendera ( ar, دَنْدَرة ''Dandarah''; grc, Τεντυρις or Τεντυρα; Bohairic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲣⲓ, translit=Nitentōri; Sahidic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲛⲧⲱⲣⲉ, translit=Nitntōre), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient ...

File:Zangaki. 0297. Vue du Caire et mosque Sultan Hussan.jpg, Sultan Hassan Mosque, Cairo File:Zangaki. 0335. Mosquee Kaïd bey.jpg, Kaïd Bey Mosque, Cairo File:Inundation du Nil et palmiers..jpg, Inundated scene on the Nile File:Zangaki. 0214. Dahabie sur le Nil Egypte.jpg, Nile boat (

Dahabeah A dahabeah, also spelled dahabeeyah, dahabiah, dahabiya, dahabiyah and dhahabiyya, as well as dahabiyeh and dahabieh (Arabic ذهبية /ðahabīya/), is a passenger boat used on the river Nile in Egypt. The term is normally used to describe a sha ...

) File:Zangaki. 0896. Arab with Three Wives and Two Servants cropped.jpg, Egyptian family with servants File:MMoCA192a (MA) Photograph by C. Zangaki.jpg,

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construct ...

, Gate of

Ptolemy III , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hiero ...

File:MMoCA192b (MA) Photograph by C. Zangaki.jpg,

Philae Island Philae Island was an island near the expansive First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt. Due to the building of the Aswan Dam, the island is today submerged under Lake Nasser. Prior to the submerging, the Philae temple complex which had been bui ...

References

External links