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IG_422: Models for the Egyptian pavilion at the Vienna world’s fair
(AUT_Wien_MAK_IG_422)

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Title

Models for the Egyptian pavilion at the Vienna world’s fair

Type of Object
Dimensions
35 x 26 cm
Artist / Producer
Gertinger, Julius · Photographer
Schmoranz, František · Draughtsman of the design for the models
Dollischek, Joseph · Sculptor of the models
Dating
c. 1873
Location
Inventory Number
KI 2901-2
Research Project
Author and Date of Entry
Franziska Niemand 2025

Iconography

Description

Black and white photograph showing models for three-dimensional architectural decoration against a black background. A caption on the card on which the photograph is mounted identifies them as models from the building group of the Viceroy of Egypt at the Vienna world’s fair in 1873, executed after drawings by the architect František Schmoranz by Joseph Dollischek, court sculptor in Vienna (‘Modelle von der Baugruppe des Vicekönigs von Egypten am Wiener Weltausstellungsplatz 1873, ausgeführt im Auftrage des Herrn General-Commissärs Prof. Brugsch-Bey, nach Zeichnungen des Herrn Architekten Schmoranz von Jos. Dollischek k.k. Hofbildhauer in Wien’).

Iconclass Code
48A98311 · foliage ~ ornament
48AA983112 · palmette ~ ornament - AA - stylized
48AA98312 · tendrils ~ ornament - AA - stylized
Iconclass Keywords

Materials, Technique and State of Preservation

Technique

Albumen print.

History

Research

The centrally positioned square model can be linked to the stucco and glass windows at the top of the mashrabiyya oriels on the front façade of the central avant-corps of the 1873 Egyptian pavilion, which is documented photographically (IG_457). In a newspaper article, the author Carl von Vincenti describes the triple windows above the mashrabiyyāt in the harem of the Arab dwelling as patterns of glass inlaid in ‘gypsum arabesques’. According to Vincenti, this type of window was called a ‘karamin’, and the high chambers of the Egyptian pavilion owed their pleasant twilight to them. (‘Man nennt diese Oberfenster „Karamin“ und ihren farbigen, in Gipsarabesken eingefügten Glasmustern verdanken die hohen Gemächer ein ganz eigenthümlich wohltuendes Dämmerlicht.’; Vincenti, 1873, p. 1995).

As the photograph of the model shows, the lattice window’s main design is enclosed by a band of small holes. The corners are accentuated by small, perforated rosettes. The central design consists of intertwined floral tendrils that merge into palmettes and half-palmettes. They are formed with stucco, while the openings that were potentially filled with glass are not of floral form themselves (except for a small palmette on each side), but simply served as a colourful background. This is different to the stucco and glass windows documented in drawings by Schmoranz himself (IG_417, IG_418).

The models show that the stucco and glass windows of the Arab dwelling were neither historical nor newly made architectural fragments brought from Cairo, but that they were produced in Vienna by Joseph Dollischek after designs by the pavilion’s architect, Schmoranz.

Dating
c. 1873
Period
1872 – 1874
Related Locations
Place of Manufacture

Provenance

Owner

MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst

Bibliography and Sources

Literature

Niemand, F. (2019). „Orientalische“ Architektur und fotografische Dokumentation der Wiener Weltausstellung 1873 [Masterthesis]. Universität Wien.

Vincenti, C. (1873, October 29). Weltausstellung 1873. Das ägyptische Wohnhaus, Wiener Abendpost. Beilage zur Wiener Zeitung, 250, pp. 1995–1996.

Exhibitions

1873: Weltausstellung, Vienna

Image Information

Name of Image
AUT_Wien_MAK_IG_422
Credits
Julius Gertinger, MAK Inv.nr. KI 2901-2

Citation suggestion

Niemand, F. (2025). Models for the Egyptian pavilion at the Vienna world’s fair. In Vitrosearch. Retrieved July 1, 2025 from https://test.vitrosearch.ch/objects/2713266.

Record Information

Reference Number
IG_422