Egyptian-French Cultural Encounters at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867
abstract
The subject of this article is the Egyptian exhibition at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. At the time of the exhibition, Egypt was at the peak of its modernization reforms, and Ismail Pasha had recently received the khedival title and more autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. Focusing on the Egyptian official exhibition catalogues and media coverage, this article argues that the Khedive used the exposition as an opportunity to fashion a powerful dynastic order with a distinct cultural identity independent from the Ottomans, a dynasty that could become the new political and cultural center of the Islamic world and a hyphen between the Occident and the Orient.
Keywords: Egypt • Exposition Universelle • Ottoman Empire • Khedive Ismail