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Sir Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell (13 September 1879 – 8 April 1974) was an English
architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...
who wrote some of the seminal works on
Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...
in Egypt.


Early life

Creswell was born on 13 September 1879 in London. He was educated at
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
before going on to study electrical engineering at Finsbury City and Guilds Technical College in 1896. During this time he developed his considerable skills in draughtsmanship. He worked for Siemens Brothers and then, from 1914, the Deutsche Bank in London. Creswell was interested in eastern buildings and places from childhood. By 1910 he had become so drawn to Islamic architecture that he started collecting a library that was eventually to become one of the most comprehensive private collections of its kind. As well as working at his engineering day job, he spent time studying eastern architecture. He published an article in ''
The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation si ...
'' in 1913, and soon after gave a paper to the
Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
, which was well received. Both concerned domes in Persian architecture. His interest in Islamic architecture spurred him to look for more satisfying employment, and in May 1914 he applied, unsuccessfully, to join the Archaeological Survey of India. The
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
broke out in August of that year, and in April 1916 he was selected on probation for appointment as Assistant Equipment Officer in the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
. Some time afterwards he was posted to Egypt. He rose through the ranks, and by July 1919 had been appointed (as an Army Captain) as Inspector of Monuments under General Allenby's
Occupied Enemy Territory Administration The Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (OETA) was a joint British, French and Arab military administration over Levantine provinces of the former Ottoman Empire between 1917 and 1920, set up on 23 October 1917 following the Sinai and Pale ...
in Palestine and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. He travelled extensively, making measured drawings and notes as well as recording the monuments photographically, producing nearly a thousand photographs.http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990142175150203941/catalog He was appointed a Member of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in the
1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...
.


''Early Muslim Architecture (EMA)'' and ''The Muslim Architecture of Egypt (MAE)''

In May 1920 Creswell drew up a proposal for a History of the Muslim Architecture of Egypt. He intended this to be an exhaustive study of the subject. As well as detailed descriptions of individual monuments, bolstered with plans, drawings and photographs, there were also to be chapters on the development of certain features, such as minarets, domes and madrasas. He submitted the proposal to
King Fuad I Fuad I ( ar, فؤاد الأول ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; tr, I. Fuad or ; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sulta ...
of Egypt, who recognised the importance of such a work and was an enthusiastic patron. Creswell was granted 800 Egyptian pounds for three years to finance the work. Creswell hastily returned to England for demobilisation, and returned to
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 metr ...
on 13 October 1920. The work proved to be even more monumental than Creswell had anticipated. Archaeological excavations had significantly increased the number of known monuments, and no draughtsman was made available to him. He undertook all the work without assistance. Five volumes had been published by 1969, totalling 1,769 pages, with a sixth volume in preparation but unpublished on his death in 1974. This massive work was split into two: ''Early Muslim Architecture'' (Volume I published in 1932; Volume II published in 1940; Volume I second edition in 1969) and ''The Muslim Architecture of Egypt'' (Volume I published in 1952; Volume II published in 1959).


Other works

Creswell first started work on the ''Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts and Crafts of Islam'' in 1912; it was finally published in 1961. This drew together all the books, articles and periodical volumes that concerned this very wide field, and comprised the listing of some 12,300 books and nearly as many periodical volumes. A supplement appeared in 1973. As well as these huge undertakings, Creswell produced an additional sixty-odd articles and other writings.


Teaching and other posts held; honours awarded

Creswell was appointed a lecturer at Fuad University (now
Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
) in Cairo in 1931, and within three years was made Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture. He held this post until 1951. In 1956 he was appointed a Distinguished Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the
American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning progra ...
. In 1939 he became a member of the Higher Council for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, holding this post for 12 years. He was keenly involved in the recording and preservation of the twelfth-century wall and gates of medieval Cairo. From 1949 until 1967 he was a Trustee of the Palestine Archaeological Museum in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Creswell was elected a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...
in 1947, became a
C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in 1955 and was
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
ed in 1970, at the age of ninety.


Later years

In 1956 the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
ensured the unpopularity of the British in Egypt. The government advised Creswell to leave the country. On learning that his library could not be exported, Creswell resolved to stay. The American University in Cairo offered to house the books on his behalf, and Creswell accepted, albeit with some exceedingly strict strings attached: the students, for example, were not allowed to touch the books. In 1959 he was awarded the Triennial Gold Medal by the
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the e ...
. In June 1973, his health failing, Creswell returned to England. He died on 8 April 1974. He never married. Creswell bequeathed his library of 3,000-plus volumes to the American University in Cairo, along with his collection of some 11,000 photographic prints. The
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University o ...
in Oxford received the photographic negatives. More than 2,700 prints were sent to art historian
Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...
, a friend of Creswell. Buried in Acton cemetery in grave number 53BM.


See also

* Pro-Jerusalem Society (1918-1926) - Creswell was a member of its leading Council *Photo collection at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library http://digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu/digital/collection/p15795coll14 *AUC’s Creswell Cairo Collection Exhibition held in 2020 at the American University in Cairo on the occasion of his relocation to Cairo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB1D9vJIdhQ&feature=emb_logo *


References


Sources

*C. L. Geddes et al., 1965, ''Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture in Honour of Professor K. A. C. Creswell'' Cairo * Grabar, O. (ed), 1991, ''K. A. C. Creswell and His Legacy'' ''Muqarnas, an Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture'' Vol 8 Leiden: E J Brill * Hamilton, R. W., 1974
'Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell 1879–1974'
''Proceedings of the British Academy'', Volume LX, 459–476 *Karnouk, Gloria, 1991, 'The Creswell Library: A Legacy' ''Muqarnas, an Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture'' Vol. 8, 117–124


Articles

* * * * * * * *


External links


Bibliography of Creswell's works


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927001437/http://develop.aucegypt.edu/gcaw/creswell/ Creswell photographic print archive and library at The American University, Cairobr>Very informative website about a 2004 exhibition of Creswell's photographsSome of Creswell's photographs and architectural drawingsPhotographs collected and taken by CreswellThe Creswell photos at the Berenson Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creswell, K.A.C. 1879 births 1974 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Islamic architecture Historians of Islamic art British architecture writers English architectural historians Fellows of the British Academy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Iran's Book of the Year Awards recipients Writers from London