Ruïne van een versierde muur in het Paleis van de Koopman ofwel Selçuklu Sarayi, Ani 1875 - 1880

Curator: This haunting image, taken between 1875 and 1880 by Onnes Kurkdjian, depicts "Ruins of a Decorated Wall in the Merchant's Palace, or Seljuk Sarayi, Ani." Editor: There’s something about this crumbling façade. It evokes a profound sense of loss, doesn't it? That arabesque pattern, even in its dilapidated state, suggests a grand history, of lives lived and lost to ruin. Curator: Absolutely. The photograph itself becomes a reliquary, a tangible connection to a fragmented past. These motifs resonate with ancient Anatolian symbols, carrying echoes of prosperity, trade, and a complex fusion of cultures. Think of the symbolic weight embedded in each geometric form. Editor: Thinking materially, look at how the photographer captured this. A daguerreotype, yes? The process itself, chemical reactions on metal, mimics the slow decomposition of the stone. The photograph is itself a kind of ruin in miniature. Also I bet that place used to have incredible colors, which are all now reduced to gray. Curator: That's insightful. And within the destruction, note the arch still visible. It provides an archetypal frame, a hopeful aperture framing further loss within. The artist captures light in a certain way here, evoking what must have been once a palace teeming with social connections and activity, reducing now into decay. It serves as a powerful memento mori, does it not? Editor: It makes me wonder about the labor that went into creating this wall – the hands that carved those intricate designs, the quarrying and transport of the stones. The photographer captures a long arc of extraction, creation, destruction and rediscovery. Each act involving specific actors in society. Curator: A perfect observation, that makes this print an evocative contemplation on the transient nature of power, doesn't it? Editor: A reflection on our own fleeting contributions to the physical world and their fate too.