Barcigyan is one of the first Armenian photographers based in Egypt. The photographer's ‘Victoria’ studio was located on Bab al-Hadid street in Cairo's centre, in front of the Cairo's central station and Nubar Pasha's palace. Like his more famous compatriot Gabriel Lekegian, Barcigyan had moved to Egypt from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1890s. Surviving photographs indicate that ‘Victoria’ operated at least until the end of the 1900s, and only specialized in studio portraiture. They are skilfully made but perfectly conventional carte de visite and cabinet-portraits. Quite interesting in terms of cultural history are the commissioned portraits of Cairo’s middle and upper-class Arab residents. We have not been able to locate any archival or bibliographical sources pertaining to the photographer’s life or activity.

Vigen Galstyan, 2018