Istvan Ormos

Max Herz Pasha (1856-1919), chief architect to the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe for a quarter of a century (1890-1914), was in charge of the conservation of monuments of Islamic and Coptic architecture in Egypt at a period of crucial importance. We are indebted to him for the survival of many important monuments in Cairo, while in the case of those which he restored he determined their present-day shape to a considerable degree. Herz was the first director of the Arab Museum (now Museum of Islamic Art) and also an accomplished scholar. He was active as a private architect too, a representative of and foremost authority on the Neo-Mamluk style. The present monograph deals with Herz Pasha's life, career and achievements on the basis of a rich documentary material. It can also be used as a sourcebook because many documents are published, either in extenso or as extracts, with the aim to facilitate future research. The chequered life-story of a personality kind in human intercourse yet demanding in professional work unfolds in connection with the architecture of the city that is richest in the world in monuments of Islamic art.