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PHOTOGRAPHY

OTHER PHOTOGRAPHIC FINDINGS

Ziggurat of the Remedios aqueduct. Naucalpan, Mexico. 1908.

Sepia-toned gelatin silver print -12,7 x 17,7 cm. / 5 x 6.96 in.-, plain paper with a matte texture, with black margins. Vintage copy made by contact of the negative. Good condition. Framed.


The photograph taken in 1908 is most likely due to Charles Burlingame Waite, an American photographer who lived in Mexico between 1897 and 1923, thoroughly documenting the landscape and territorial manifestations of that great nation. The view can be considered a classic record of a 17th century colonial complex. This work was started in 1616 to provide the Los Remedios Sanctuary with water. In the effort to generate the slope, two “ziggurats” (or “snail”, with a singular similarity to the Biblical representation of the Tower of Babel) were created for its vents that are structures of a siphon system. This works by means of an underground pipeline that conducts the water stored in a tank placed high enough to exert pressure, allowing the liquid to move to the opposite end, located at a lower height. However, the rugged terrain and the higher height of the sanctuary compared to the reservoir prevented a good concrete response. New works of arches in 1675 looked for alternatives, but the 17 meters high of the generating arches were insufficient. Although all the work deteriorated in the course of the 20th century, today it is restored.


C. B. Waite (1861-1927) arrived in Mexico in the middle of the Porfiriato (1), attracted by the possibilities offered by his profession in a country of great investments and with his government determined to show an optimistic image. That photographer, always working outdoors, recorded the cross between the modern and the ancient in images that so captivated, and also documented the trades and customs in the deepest Mexico.

Notes: 1. An extensive period between 1876 and 1911, with Mexico under the government of General Porfirio Díaz. S.E.H-IX-BMM

AUTHOR BURLINGAME WAITE, CHARLES (ATRIBUIDO)

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