Two Sultans of Zanzibar in photographs
[Five photographs of Sultans of Zanzibar].
5 photographs, comprising 2 albumen photograph cartes-de-visite (90 x 62 mm) and 3 silver gelatin and albumen photographs (137 x 184 mm). Two with press release captions on the reverse.
€ 6,500.00
A rare set of photographs from the Sultanate of Zanzibar, including two cartes-de-visite of Sultan Barghash bin Said al-Busaidi (1836-88) and three photographs of Sultan Khalifa II bin Harub Al-Said (1879-1960).
The Sultanate of Zanzibar was created in 1856 following the death of Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi (1791-1856), who had ruled both Oman and Zanzibar as the sultan of Oman since 1804. The Sultans of Zanzibar were of a cadet branch of the Al Said Dynasty of Oman and retained close ties. Sultan Barghash was the son of Saïd bin Sultan and was the second sultan of Zanzibar, ruling from 1870 until his death in 1888. Sultan Barghash is shown both in photo portrait (by A. Liebert of Paris) and seated together with five members of his retinue (by Maull & Co. of London). The other three photographs comprise a photo portrait of Sultan Khalifa taken in about 1911, and two press photographs of Khalifa on diplomatic visits. The first shows a visit to the Government House in Cape Town in 1929, where the Sultan Khalifa is accompanied by his son and future successor, Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Said (1911-63). The second was taken in 1937 when Sultan Khalifa travelled to London for the coronation of Britain's George VI.
A hint of fading on the albumen photographs, otherwise well preserved.
