SIGNED NAWAB 'ALI, CIRCA 1910

Early photographs such as this view of the Ka’ba provide a rare and valuable historical record of the holy site in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This work follows the photographs by well-known photographers Sadiq Bey and ‘Abd al-Ghaffar and is signed by Nawab ‘Ali. Only one other album of photographs of Mecca and Medina from this photographer has been recorded which was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 14 November 2017, lot 86. The present lot is particularly rare for its large size when compared with other early surviving photographs of the holy sites.