Wf1/4625(33)

Inscription: Signed 'E. No. 59 1857 Frith' in the negative.

Genre: Archaeological Photography

View of a portion of the Great Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak: 'It is easier, methinks, to write an article for the most insignificant of my subjects than for Karnac: it is perfectly hopeless to attempt to do it justice either by the camera or the pen. I can tell you, it is true, how many columns are standing in the Great Hall, and I can give you their dimensions; but as for transporting you even in imagination to the very spot — as for making you feel the witchcraft of the place, its oppressive grandeur, its dark mysterious interest, the thing is totally impossible. I am even ashamed of my view, it is so thoroughly inadequate to the subject: but the fact is, that the pillars are so strangely crowded together, and their height is so great, as to render it quite impossible to obtain a photograph within the hall itself. The same applies to the porticoes of all the Egyptian temples, which are, upon the whole, their most beautiful and striking features. In justice to these glorious ruins, I am bound to confess that these, as well as most of the interiors, I have not been able to illustrate.'