International Exhibitions | Temporary structures and presentation of national contexts | Between evocations and archaeological reconstruction

At the World’s Fairs, significant historical monuments were often reconstructed within the areas dedicated to different countries.

Among the buildings at the International Exhibitions, and in particular the pavilions of the countries of the Arab and Ottoman worlds, the replicas of historical monuments, shown in different national contexts as testimony to their cultural heritage, are particularly noteworthy. With a view to rediscovering the past and in line with the cultural climate at the time, combined with the commercial interests that drove the organisation of these World’s Fairs, reconstruction of the most significant historical monuments, albeit temporary, helped to give the mainly European general public a better idea of the material culture of individual countries. Some of these reconstructions were reused in later years in entirely different environments, such as museum exhibits or teaching aids. The attempt to synthesise human progress at the Paris exhibition of 1889 in the unconvincing exhibit titled “History of Human Habitation” was much less successful, simply because it was seen as misleading and inauthentic.

Working NumberNameHolding MuseumDateMaterialsCurator Justification
AT 120Rosette shaped part of the minbar of the Mosque of Ibn TulunMAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art1296; exhibited at Paris World Trade Exhibition in 1867Carved and inlayed woodFragments of the minbar from the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo were on show at the exhibition held in Paris in 1867. Exhibitions displaying objects such as this sparked interest among European museums to acquire similar artefacts, such as the rosette seen here, which is now in Vienna.

DZ 021Ceiling Musée Public National des Antiquités19th century Carved and painted wood This plafond, among other works of art, was exhibited in the “Algerian” pavilion at the Exhibition of Art and Industry held in Paris in 1867.

AT 036Decoration of the Egyptian collection of Kunsthistorisches Museum in ViennaKunsthistorisches Museum, Egyptian Collection1873The decoration of the Egyptian Gallery at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna was realized in 1877. It copies exactly the decoration created for the “Egyptian” pavilion, at the World’s Fair held in Vienna in 1873, by Ernst Weidenbach, which he copied from the paintings in the Tomb of Chnumhotep II in Beni Hassan (central Egypt).

AT 037Decoration of the Egyptian collection of Kunsthistorisches Museum in ViennaKunsthistorisches Museum, Egyptian Collection1873This is a general view of the Egyptian Gallery at the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna where the ancient context is evoked in vivid style: the wall decoration is the same as that used for the “Egyptian” pavilion at the World’s Fair held in Vienna in 1873.

AT 017Photograph of the copy of the fountain of Ahmed IIIMAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Artc. 1873PhotographyAt the exhibition held in Vienna in 1873, at a time when the Austrian Empire was very interested in fostering trade relations with the Ottomans, the Ottoman Empire was represented by a “Turkish” quarter posed, like the Egyptian one, in front of the main hall. In the main pavilion was a re-creation of the Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III, built in 1728, in front of the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.

IT2 051The Hall of Greece donated by the Greek government to the city of Rome, Rome Exhibition, 1911Central Institute for Ethno-Anthropology, National Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions1911For the exhibition held in Rome in 1911, a complex called the “Baths of Diocletian” was re-created under the direction of the archaeologist and topographer Rodolfo Lanciani. At the same site there was an “Archaeological Exhibition dedicated to Roman culture in the Imperial Era with a particular interest in its positive influence on the ex-provinces”. Some material from this exhibition can still be seen at the Museo della Civiltà Romana (Rome). Seen here is the room dedicated to Greece.

IT2 049Austria's display, Rome Exhibition, 1911Central Institute for Ethno-Anthropology, National Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions1911Archaeological material and casts on display in the room dedicated to Austria at the exhibition held in Rome in 1911. This exhibition, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Italy’s Unification travelled from Rome to Florence and then to Turin with a different theme at each location; for example, the Roman exhibition was dedicated to archaeology and the new discipline of ethnography.

IT2 050The Hall of Spain, Rome Exhibition, 1911Central Institute for Ethno-Anthropology, National Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions1911Actual material evidence and casts of objects from Islamic Spain displayed in the “Baths of Diocletian” at the exhibition held in Rome in 1911. The material created for this exhibition created so much interest on a scientific level that the curators decided to exhibit them permanently, and most of the works are now held at Museo della Civiltà Romana (Rome).

IT2 069The Door of the Jami`a el-Kebir Mosque [Paris Exhibition, 1878]National Central Library1878A perfect reconstruction of the enormous portal from the Great Mosque of Algiers (Djama’a al-Kebir) located near Algiers Harbour. The replica, which was presented at the exhibition held in Paris in 1878, in displaying some of Algeria’s most important architecture, represents a form of cultural promotion of the country.

IT2 070The Chapel of the Mihrab at the Oratory of the Cathedral of Cordoba Reproduced by Mr Giuseppe Botana with Pieces of Mother-of-pearl and Shells [Paris Exhibition 1878]National Central Library1878This faithful reconstruction of the “Chapel of the Mihrab” was made for the exhibition held in Paris in 1878. Construction of the Great Mosque of Córdoba above the previous Christian church was begun by the Emir Abd al-Rahman I in 786 CE. Decoration of the replica was realised by Giuseppe Botana who specialised in mother-of-pearl and the mosaicist Zuloaga.

IT2 076A copy of the Tower of Galata made for the Genoa Exhibition, 1914Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation (ICCD)1914The “International Exhibition of Marine and Maritime Hygiene: The Italian Colonial Show”, was held in Genoa in 1914, curated by the architect Gino Coppede. This photo shows the replica, created for the occasion, of the famous Tower of Galata that the Genoese had rebuilt in the district of Constantinople in 1348.

IT2 044Reconstruction of Ancyra Temple at the Rome International Exhibition, 1911Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation (ICCD)1911The most incredible reconstruction on display at the exhibition held in Rome in 1911 was the Temple of Ancyra, dedicated to Augustus and the goddess Roma. Accurate in the extreme, the reconstruction was based on casts taken by the archaeologist Azeglio Berretti, among whose finds is the engraved inscription on bronze tablets, the so-called Res Gestae, representing the testament of the Emperor Augustus.

UK 096Recreating AssyriaPrivate collection1850’s?At the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851 a massive, full-colour reconstruction of the “Assyrian Court” was based on recent discoveries at the Assyrian city of Nimrud. There was also a parallel “Egyptian Court” as can be seen in this photo.

UK 097Showcasing architecturePrivate collection1889In this chromolithograph from the exhibition held in Paris in 1889 the area dedicated to the exhibit “Histoire de l’habitation humaine” can be seen: there are reconstructions of residences of the world, in a pastiche of styles without continuity, through which visitors can wander.