"Copper Plate Printers at Work", Folio from the Davis Album

Art Historical Context

"Copper Plate Printers at Work" is a striking folio from the Davis Album, created by artist Muhammad Zaman in 1784–85 CE. Rendered in ink on paper, the drawing captures men actively engaged with printing machinery, illustrating the rhythms of skilled labor and early industrial processes. Measuring just over 13 inches tall, this intimate work invites close viewing of its detailed figures and equipment, offering museum visitors a window into 18th-century craft traditions. As part of the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Islamic Art, the folio belongs to a codex-style album that likely gathered diverse drawings and paintings for study or appreciation. The choice of ink on paper emphasizes precision and clarity, allowing Zaman to highlight both human effort and mechanical ingenuity without color or embellishment. This focus on working life adds a grounded, documentary quality to the album’s artistic contents. Acquired through the Theodore M. Davis bequest, the piece reflects broader cultural interest in recording everyday activities alongside more traditional subjects. Its presence in the collection underscores how albums served as portable archives, preserving scenes of labor for later generations to study and admire.