Photograph of two men and eleven women posing in stage costumes: Museum Object and Cultural History
Photograph of two men and eleven women posing in stage costumes: Date: ca. 1925. Photograph by: Unidentified. Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men.
The object in the museum catalogue
A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of two (2) men and eleven (11) women posing in stage costumes. Ten (10) of the women are standing in a line across the stage. All but one of the women are depicted wearing identical, sequined bikini-style tops with a swath of sequined fabric running down their midsections, and fingerless gloves. The bikini bottoms are overlaid with sheer fabric with tasseled fringed ends, knotted at the belly button. Each woman is wearing large, hooped earrings and a turban with some of their hair peeking out. The five (5) women on the left have both of their arms pointed toward the left edge of the image. And the five (5) women on the right have both of their arms pointed toward the right edge of the image. One (1) woman is centrally depicted, kneeling on a pillow in front of the line of women and a large seated Buddha, with her arms crossed over her chest. On either side of her kneels a man depicted in profile with his hands held out to her, palms up. The man on the left is wearing harem pants and a matching, loose fitted shirt with a beaded collar and cuffs. He is also wearing a turban with a large gemstone on the proper right side. The man on the right is depicted in blackface with white lips. He is also wearing harem pants, a kurta wrapped around the waist with a knotted length of fabric, and a turban. There is an inscription in pencil on the back.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: ca. 1925
- Photograph by: Unidentified
- Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
- Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
- Type: gelatin silver prints
- Type: portraits
- Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions: H x W (Image and sheet): 10 11/16 × 13 7/16 in. (27.1 × 34.1 cm)
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Blackface
- Topic: Dance
- Topic: Music
- Topic: Nightlife
- Topic: Photography
- Topic: Stereotypes
- Topic: Theatre
- Object number: 2013.46.25.1
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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