Name of Object:

Bayt al-Barudi steamship murals, Damascus

Other name of the Object (second name):

Mural in the main reception hall of the Barudi House at the quarter of Qanawat

Location:

Berlin, Germany

Holding Institution:

Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, State Museums

 About Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, State Museums, Berlin

Date of Object:

1880-1925

Description:

The steamships are of one of the most important technical innovations in the nineteenth-century, because they introduced new modern possibilities of transport and trade and hence contributed to the economic transformation of the Ottoman Empire. Because of this new transportation, cities on the Euphrates or Tigris experienced drastic changes and flourished even more. This impact lead to numerous depictions of steamships in artwork, such as this mural from Bayt al-Qabbani (Damascus, built at the turn of the 19th/20th century) shows. As symbols of the new time they represent global exchange of goods, ideas and people.

Type of Object

Photograph

Citation of this web page:

Stefan Weber "Bayt al-Barudi steamship murals, Damascus" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;de;7;en;en

Prepared by: Stefan Weber

MWNF Working Number: DE 007