A collection of almost a hundred reproductions of images of 19th-century Tunisia, bearing witness to the many changes made to a number of sites and monuments over the course of the country's history, has made a stopover at the Bardo National Museum as part of a temporary exhibition entitled "Tunez en Sepia." The fruit of collaboration between Tunisia and Spain, this exhibition will be on show for six months (from December 2023 to May 2024), showing 19th-century European photographers' views of Tunisia through reproductions of their work. These photographs take us on a journey through time to discover landscapes, old views of towns, traditional dwellings, souks, interior patios, etc., all places steeped in history and memory that have changed or simply disappeared. Whether attributed to well-known or lesser-known photographers, the sepia-toned photos, taken on albumen paper - the period when the albumen technique was in use (1855-1895) - focus on monuments and archaeological ruins from prehistory to the By zantine era, Others from the medieval and modern periods, and defensive or religious architecture, "are of great documentary interest on a part of the history of Tunisia, but also of photography," Spain's ambassador to Tunisia Javier Puig Saura pointed out. During a media visit together with cultural adviser Ramon de Abadal and director of the Bardo Museum Fatma Nait Yghil, the Spanish diplomat underlined that "this exceptional exhibition is of significance from a documentary, historical, cultural and artistic point of view, as it provides an opportunity to discover what was fashionable at the time, namely orientalist photography." 130 years later, "We are delighted today that part of this photographic collection from the Spanish National Archaeological Museum in Madrid is returning to Tunisia as part of our bilateral cooperation, illustrating the shared history that binds us on both shores of the Mediterranean," he said, pointing out that "it consists of a selection of reproductions of photographs that the Bey of Tunisia (Ali III Ibn al-Hussayn) had donated to the Spanish National Archaeological Museum following his participation in the European historical exhibition held in Madrid in the same building during the period 1892-1893." The exhibition which is held concurrently with another "Tunez en Sepia" in Madrid since last October and which will last till January 14 2024, is "an invaluable asset for the Bardo Museum, since the whole collection will remain in the museum and enrich its collections," the Bardo meseum director indicated, welcoming in this regard "this deep cooperation between the two museums, itestifying once again to the solidity of the relations biding the two countries." Whether in Tunis or Madrid, the "Tunez en Sepia" photographic journey offers not only a retrospective into the past, but also an opportunity to pass on the flame of recollection of the different facets of 19th-century Tunisia, where the relics of a past and the traces of the memory carriers will be carefully preserved like a n ew jewel in the case of the Bardo National Museum. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse