Armenian family, Ottoman Empire, 19th century

The photograph shows an Armenian family from the Ottoman Empire, 19th century. The father sits in the centre: bearded, wearing a turban and a long dark coat, holding a small child and prayer beads. On the left stands a boy in a fez and a long coat; on the right, a girl in a flowered dress and headscarf. Below is a handwritten French caption meaning “Armenians”.

According to the source, the photograph was taken by the noted Armenian photographer Pascal Sébah, whose works are today an important historical source and have preserved the faces of the Armenian communities of the Ottoman Empire.