Early Photography Portraits

an unreliable source

Early photography portraits of the Middle East

Updated Jan 11, 2024

Don’t you just love those old photos of women wearing jewellery? Many collectors search for these and use them to get an idea of how jewellery was worn. But there are some serious considerations to take into account with these photos: you can’t take them at face value.

Staged studio photographs

The thing with old portraits is that in almost all cases they have been staged. Early photographic equipment was heavy and cumbersome: you couldn’t snap a candid picture like we are used to nowadays, the subject had to stay really still.

Buildings and landscapes are better at that than people, so these form a large part of early photos.⁠ For people, photographers would have their own studio and their own props, and they could create photographs of people dressed in just about anything that they believed would sell.

And that is an important aspect of early photography: the point of view from which these photos were taken.

Early photography: creating the ‘Orient’

Early photography very often served to create an image of ‘the Orient’ to send back home. Of course, this new art was also used in documentation like for example of archaeological sites and monuments, but documenting more often than not switched to creating when contemporary life was photographed.

What was photographed had to fit into a specific framework: idyllic scenes in the countryside ‘like it had been in Biblical times’, and studio photography of men and women at their most ‘Oriental’. This included strangely misplaced clothing and sometimes complete nudity, as well as unnatural poses.⁠ Life as it actually happened was rarely photographed.⁠

Old photographs therefore are not neutral sources of information: we always need to be aware of the intent with and purpose for which they were taken. The photograph shown above was taken by Jean Besancenot in Morocco, and is more reliable than for example images from photo studios operating in the main cities.

Constructing the Orient: modern media

But is that misrepresentation a thing of the past? Sadly, no. In this digital age, photographs circulate faster and wider than ever before.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are picture-based entirely and a quick search will get you dozens of image results. The context that goes with these however often does not come along, and as a consequence misinformation and misrepresentations are repeated again and again. It’s why I started this blog, as I wrote about here.

With the availability of photography for virtually everyone, paired with the slow disappearance of traditional dress and adornment, we enter a new era of constructed images.

Again, mashups of dress and adornment are created, photographed and circulated widely with just one click of a mouse. The photo shown above is an example for such a mashup: the headdress and face veil are not worn together like this, as they belong to two different social groups.

How to observe early portrait photos from the Middle East

Here are three points to consider when looking at old photographs of women wearing jewellery.

First of all, don’t take them at face value immediately but have a close look at what you actually see. Is it a studio photograph? Is the photographed person (semi-) nude? Is the photo part of a series, recognizable by captions like ‘scènes & types’? These are all indicators for posed and constructed photography. Postcards in particular are notoriously posed and in some cases a far cry from reality.

A second point is to look for other work by the same photographer: there is a difference between the well-known photo studios in large towns, and photographers associated with for example archaeological or military expeditions.Who was the photographer? What else did he (it was almost always a he, see for a remarkable exception this blog) photograph?

Thirdly, see what information, if any, you can dig up about the photograph itself. Especially with photographs found online, see what information comes with it: not every ‘Bedouin bride’ or ‘Woman in traditional clothing’ is identified accurately. As mislabeled info is often copied many times over (see more about that here), this may take some searching, but using the search feature for comparable images it may in some cases be possible to find a source with more information.

Taking the time to form an opinion about the trustworthiness of a photograph as visual source will help you gain a better understanding of the jewellery and dress you’re researching.

Early portrait photos and jewellery: what we can learn

Is there anything we can learn with certainty from early portrait photographs, regarding jewellery? Well, yes: we can observe which jewellery items were in existence at the time of photographing.

Even if they are props and used randomly (you’d be surprised to see how many necklaces ended up as headdresses, just because it looks so exotic), logic dictates they were available when the picture was taken.

This provides us with a timeframe: ‘this type of jewel existed as early as…’, and to some extent an idea of clothing. These pieces of information can then be used again to contribute to the actual story of the photographed people as they really were, instead of how the photographer invented them to be.⁠

And that’s the story jewellery research aims to bring back to life!

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References

I have written this blog post from a perspective of photography as resource for jewellery studies and not as a discussion of early photography itself. This field is widely explored by scholars from a variety of angles. Here are a few starting points:

The essays in the Postcard Women’s Imaginarium are a very important contribution by contemporary artists and scholars to the interpretation of Orientalist postcards.

Tied in to the inventing and constructing of photographs is the power balance between the (foreign) photographer and the photographed. The Civil Contract of Photography by Ariella Azoulay explores these ethical aspects in depth. The video A Snapshot of Empire: the racist legacy of colonial postcards shows how these pre-staged photographs continue to influence our view today: watching these 8 minutes is highly recommended!

Local photography is discussed in Ritter and Scheiwiller (eds), The Indigenous Lens? Early Photography in the Near and Middle East (Berlin 2018), of which the introductory chapter can be read here.

A selection of sources for historical photographs of the Middle East can be found here and here.

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Jewels of the Nile

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Jewels of the Nile

The Marrs Collection

ancient egypt

Jewels of the Nile

Ancient Egyptian jewellery never ceases to fascinate. Be it original ancient pieces or Egyptian revival-style of the last century, the allure of Egypt continues to capture the imagination and serve as inspiration. The splendid collection of the Worcester Art Museum encompasses pieces from pharaonic Egypt up to the early 20th century. These have now been published in the book Jewels of the Nile: a book that not only presents the jewellery itself, but offers a wide range of contextual information on ancient Egypt, the history of collecting and the opportunities that jewellery research has to offer, to name but a few. This scope makes Jewels of the Nile into an exceptional book.

The jewellery collection presented in the book has been assembled by Laura Marrs (1845-1926). She and her husband met with Howard Carter in the early 20th century, and the latter advised the couple for many years on which pieces to buy. Howard Carter of course would later be remembered as the discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun –the centennial of the discovery approaching is one of the reasons for this book to be published.

To provide a historic background for the jewellery, the book starts out with a brief overview of Egyptian history. Next is an important chapter on the collector of the jewels, Laura Marrs, which is as much about Howard Carter as it is about Mrs. Marrs. Snippets of letters exchanged show the great talent of Carter as an artist – the Marrs couple also commissioned several water colour drawings which are included in the book. The letters and other documentation preserved in the personal archive of Mrs. Marrs shed light on how their collection was built: not only on the advice of Carter, but of Mohamed Mohassib as well, an antiquities dealer in Luxor. This chapter provides a glimpse of the world of antiquities trade a century ago, a thread that is picked up and returned to in the chapters that follow.

The chapter on jewellery itself covers a wide variety of jewellery-related aspects. In the introduction, emphasis is placed on the value jewellery holds as source of information about the past and the circumstances in which this value speaks the loudest, in carefully documented archaeological research. This goes not only for burials, like the chapter mentions, but also for production places, discard heaps and stray jewellery like beads found in settlements, although the richest jewellery assemblies of course have been found in burial contexts and as such have much to offer in terms of research. An absolutely stunning testimony to the skill of the ancient Egyptian craftsmen is the silver scarab of a person named Wah: a small but perfectly shaped scarab with even smaller inlaid hieroglyphs. (I also love the way the photographer is reflected in its shining surface, a problem I run into myself often when photographing silver jewellery….it’s simply inevitable!) Colour symbolism along with three sections on various materials and techniques deepen our understanding of Egyptian jewellery. A section on Egyptian revival jewellery illustrates how both original pieces and Egyptian inspired jewellery came to be all the rage from the 1870’s onwards.

It is difficult to pick a favourite chapter in this book, but if I had to, it would be the chapter on conservation, technique and research. Here, the value of jewellery research is shown in several exciting discoveries. The restringing of beaded jewellery for example: in the timeframe these beads were collected, stringing them into interesting-looking compositions was standard and carried out by either the seller, or later, the buyer. This was not exceptional: in many parts of the world, restringing beads uncovered during archaeological excavation was executed with little or no regard for their original composition or stringing technique. This chapter discusses and illustrates the choices made in researching and reassembling beads, with results that might surprise you – a jumble of strings becoming an elegant and well-balanced piece. That is just one example of this fascinating chapter: cleaning, restoration and amulet production are combined with bits and pieces about the organization of ancient Egyptian craftmanship. Jewellery research is not limited to this chapter, as hidden away at the end of the book is another detailed analysis of an ancient Egyptian plaquette mounted in a modern brooch, which illuminates what research can and cannot (yet) determine: possibilities for future research angles!

The catalogue of jewellery items finally is simply a treasure. This is not only due to the high quality of the jewellery items in the collection, but certainly also because of the fabulous photography and design of the book: large images, in vibrant colours, with plenty of space for detailed shots. Every single piece is allowed to shine and the combinations are equally vivid. A bibliography along with additional information for each catalogue entry completes the volume. An absolutely stunning, highly informative book that you will want to both read and admire!

Jewels of the Nile. Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum, by Peter Lacovara and Yvonne J. Markowitz. 216 pp, full colour, in English

Available through the publisher D Giles Limited

The book was gifted as advance reading copy by the publisher.

Splendor and Shine

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Splendour and Shine

jewellery in the life course

jewellery and the life course

Splendour and Shine

Jewellery is an important part of transitions in life, such as marriage, and wearing certain items of jewellery is closely related to various stages in life. This is the key principle in the exhibition Splendor and Shine in the River of Time, held in the Liechtensteinisches Landesmuseum in 2020, and its accompanying publication. I have not been able to visit the exhibition, but the book is a veritable treat. What makes it especially interesting is the range of traditional jewellery from a wide geographical area: the basis is formed by European dress, enhanced by many jewellery items from the Arab world and Central Asia (and to a lesser extent Africa and Oceania) for comparison.

This comparison is not just for show or aesthetic reasons only. In the first chapter, the author outlines several issues regarding the study of traditional dress and adornment, which provide a solid setting for the rest of the book. She points out for example that the study of personal adornment and dress is potentially layered with projection, as no information or documentation from the original wearers’ perspective exists, and addresses how approaching traditional dress from a colonial perspective obscures the result of migratory movements, cultural contacts and subsequent style exchanges. Reading this first chapter calls our attention to the many aspects, potential pitfalls but also possibilities of the study of traditional dress and jewellery, and this critical eye really is an asset to the book.

The book starts out with an exploration of traditional dress in Liechtenstein itself, followed by a chapter on headgear: crowns, bonnets, combs, pins, all beautifully illustrated. Several examples from outside Europe serve to widen the perspective on the reasons for wearing head decoration. The next chapter on a supra-regional classification explores principles, colours, cultural exchange and techniques used in European traditional jewellery, which I found to be very enlightening. The chapter on amulets combines jewellery from various areas in the world to illustrate the need to protect young life: from babies to young adolescents. The wish for fertility and healthy children is explored worldwide and makes for interesting similarities and differences. The same exploration is carried out in the chapter on belts: once a clear symbol of status, their function has now changed as a result of changing fashion.

The meaning of jewellery in the various stages of life is discussed in the chapter on regional festive jewellery, again with supportive examples from elsewhere in the world. This theme continues in the chapter on ethnic jewellery in Europe, Asia and Africa, followed by a chapter on amulets and beliefs during the course of life. Next is a chapter on mourning jewellery and jewellery as protection against death, followed by the final, extensive chapter on regional dress in Europe. Here, not only history and the jewellery and dress themselves are presented, but also their survival, reinterpretations and changing meaning. In between the chapters short excursions are placed, for example on the restoration of a filigree apron closure, or a letter to ancestors on hair flowers (in German only), which add another personal perspective on traditional dress. The book ends with notes and literature for each chapter.

Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on cultural exchange and changing styles, as well as on the perspectives offered on traditional jewellery. The texts are not only very informative on large and small aspects of particular jewellery, but also on the study of jewellery itself. One example is how the author remarks that the discourse on non-European jewellery is strongly Eurocentric, and only a few interpretations from within the cultures themselves exist (p. 127). That is certainly true for most large collections, which have indeed been both collected and published by European and American collectors and authors. The statement made me wonder however if this Eurocentric view is not also furthered by the fact that Westerners fail to notice publications within the cultures themselves: because of language barriers and/or their availability, for example. I do know of several publications by authors within the Arab world that are impossible to obtain in any other way than traveling to the country itself and picking up a copy there. Being aware of what else is out there besides readily available publications certainly is a main point of improvement, and to me, having this and other discrepancies pointed out in this book significantly adds to its value.

This book has much to offer: not only do the many, many photographs of jewellery and dress items (and there are hundreds of individual items to admire!) make for hours of visual pleasure, but the well-researched text has a very high density of information. I have learned a great deal while reading it, which is hardly surprising as I know woefully little about European jewellery and adornment, and I enjoyed the critical view of the author on how traditional jewellery is perceived, treated and studied. You will love this addition to your bookshelf!

Splendor and Shine in the River of Time. Traditional jewelry and costumes throughout the life course, by Irene Steiner. 194 pages, full-colour, bilingual German/English. Available through the webshop of the museum.

The book was a much loved gift from Sarah Corbett.

Stereotype

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Stereotype

Personal adornment in prehistory

personal adornment in prehistory

Stereotype

I love it when personal adornment, dress and equipment open a window on the world of its wearers. And that’s even more fantastic if those wearers lived in prehistoric times some 4,000 years ago! That window can only be opened when these items of personal presentation are analyzed in a wider context, and that is exactly what the research in Stereotype does.

Stereotype is the result of the PhD research by Karsten Wentink. The research addresses grave goods in prehistory, in particular the Corded Ware and Bell Beaker cultures. Now before you think ‘wait, what, archaeology? Pots and flint? I came here for adornment!’ – the research pivots on the presentation of the self, the careful creating of a persona by choosing a specific type of outfit. In the chapter ‘Presentation and perception’, the author zooms in on this very aspect. Based on the work of Goffman, the chapter walks us through the use of personal appearance as a means to convey intentions and to interact with others. An example in the book is that of the business suit: there’s a reason these all look alike (sorry, fashion designers), as wearing them sets the scene for a specific social interaction: doing business. Wearing a suit creates a visual framework that elicits a particular type of social comportment, so the dress code informs you about the social code that is expected in this setting. (there’s a reason you’re not expected to show up in flip-flops and your favourite Hawaii-print for a business meeting!) This dress code is understood beyond your own social group: when you’re doing business internationally, the suit will be worn by all participants. Even if you do not speak each other’s language, you share common ground in the way you dress, which reconfirms you’re all there for the same reason and will adhere to the social rules associated with that reason: your personal appearance conforms to a larger social front. I found this chapter to be particularly interesting, as it illustrates how personal appearance, dress and adornment form part of the weave of social fabric, up to a point that they not only fit in with a certain social event, but can even be used to set the scene and to steer the direction of social interaction.

Now, on to the objects themselves. The author takes this premise of the social power of adornment and appearance, and uses it to reconstruct the world of the people buried well over 4,000 years ago. What outfit did they bring along on their last journey, and what did they want to communicate through it? In short: what was their ‘business suit’ aimed at? In three chapters, the author picks apart all types of objects deposited in graves. Beakers, flint weapons, archery equipment, and ornaments in amber, bronze and gold are all carefully discussed and analyzed. Working from the starting point of personal appearance, this also includes looking at these grave goods from another perspective. Why do archery sets appear in one of two cultures studied, but not in the other? What use is an archery set anyway, seeing as it’s never complete and ready for use? Does the inclusion of flint weapons automatically make the deceased a ‘warrior’? What to think of gold and amber jewellery found in some graves: does this make the owner a ‘prince’ of ‘princess’? When looking at these items not individually per grave, but in the wider scheme of burial practices of these periods, they appear to share a common denominator: the materials used to make them come from distant places. What if this distance were the decisive factor here, instead of asserting individual martiality or wealth?

As in the case of the business suit, the items brought along by the dead conform to a larger social front. This is where that window on a past world opens. The author argues that the personal appearance of the dead reflects a world where travel, exchange and meeting strangers was the norm. The ‘outfit’ of the dead resembled that of a traveler: vessels to offer and share a drink with, practical items like firelights, but also items that came from afar and served as proof of journeys accomplished and long-distance relations maintained. Large-scale migration has been attested through ancient DNA research and a remarkable similarity in some aspects of material culture all over Europe, so as an ‘archaeological fact’ this interconnectivity was already established. Through the personal appearance of the dead on their last journey however, we learn that traveling and being a gracious host or guest mattered to them, that giving and receiving hospitality was held in high value, and that contact with strangers did not scare them, but was sought after and appreciated.

There is much more to this research, obviously: in order to reach his conclusions, the author has also analyzed the orientation of graves, the placement of grave goods within the burial, use-wear analyses to see whether objects had been used in life or were created just for the burial set – all building blocks that help to read the intentions behind the choice of grave goods. I enjoyed this book because it combines personal appearance and adornment with archaeology, and in doing so is a great example of the insights to be gained from studying how a person chooses to present him/herself, whether it is a few decades or several millennia ago!

Stereotype. The role of grave sets in Corded Ware and Bell Beaker funerary practices, by Karsten Wentink. 296 pp, with colour illustrations, in English.

The book was purchased through Sidestone Press, where it is also available for online reading.

Cleaning: what to think of

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Tips for collectors

How to avoid disaster

Cleaning: what to think of

Updated Jan 11, 2024

Cleaning jewellery can be so satisfactory! To see those layers of grime and dirt dissolve and the soft shine of silver reveal itself…and seeing your newly acquired item for the first time in all its splendour!

Cleaning jewellery is necessary from a maintenance point of view: it will help you prevent corrosion and subsequent damaging of your item. But, before you give your piece that first deep clean, here are four things you really need to consider!

Before you clean: consider information loss

Yes, the research begins even before it’s bath time! Those dirty patches and accumulations may actually contain part of the history of your piece.

Take these two Maria Theresia Thalers shown above for example: they have spent a lifetime together, which is visible in their wear pattern. Halfway the lower coin, a trace of blackish patina follows the curve of the upper coin. It allows you to place them exactly as they would have sat together, tightly pressed together.

I found these two in Jordan, and they have most likely been part of a Palestinian headdress: even though only these two coins remain, their wear pattern bears testimony to the piece they once belonged to.

Another example is this plait ornament from the Draa Valley, Morocco. The coral beads on top (look on the left and the right top beads of the ornament) still show patches of brownish paste.

This would have been scented paste, used to style and fragrance the hair for festive occasions. It no longer bears any fragrance, but its presence adds a visible memory of an invisible aspect of personal adornment that is all too easy to discard, and eventually forget, if you are not familiar with its existence in the first place.

Imagine scrubbing all of that history, scent, laughter and festivity vigourously off…!

Before you clean: write it all down

So what to do before you start cleaning your ethnic jewellery? The simplest way to document these bits and pieces of information is to take a picture before and after cleaning.

That can be as easy as taking a snap with your smartphone (I’ve got you covered with these 5 easy tips to make good jewellery photos with your phone). Include these before and after shots in your documentation: it’s always useful to have a record of any treatment of your pieces. Plus these make great content on social media, should you be looking for ideas.

Note down anything you’d want to record, for example if the layer you want to remove is sticky or dry, grainy or fine, its colour…

Finally, add a few notes on how you have cleaned it, with which products and utensils.

All of this may come in handy later, for example in the unhappy event your new jewellery starts to show a reaction to cleaning: having a record of what has been done with it, is instrumental in attempting any follow-up treatment.

Before you clean: consider the silver content

This is important! Especially for older pieces, a guaranteed silver content is not standard. The percentage of actual silver can vary greatly, and so do the components of copper, nickel or other materials.

Silver was obtained by melting down older pieces (with their variable compositions) and coins. Hallmarks indicating sterling silver (925), 800 or 600 have only been in use for a century or so.

This is important when cleaning jewellery with no hallmarks or known silver content: you will want to know how your cleaning method will affect other metals in the mix, and how in turn this will impact your piece in general.

It is also why I generally avoid the toothpaste-method or the squeezed lemons-method: both can lead to too aggressive results and damage your jewellery. Who knows what exactly is in toothpaste these days, anyway?

Before you clean: get a handle on the materials in your jewellery

There is more than just the silver content to be aware of when cleaning jewellery. And that is also where your cleaning attemps may go epically wrong, so this, too, is important.

If your piece consists of other materials, be sure to familiarize yourself with their properties and to identify their vulnerabilities.

Coral cabochons on a bracelet for example, or coral beads in a necklace. Coral is a porous animal product (see more here), not to be confused with solid material like stones: the properties of this material bring a new set of parameters to the table. Using the wrong cleaning agent may cause your coral to sustain heavy damage.

Traditional jewellery from the Arab world can contain a plethora of materials that all come with their own challenges: teeth, horns, claws, wood, scented paste beads, textile backings, and not to forget the stringing itself.

When you come across a composite piece, it’s a good idea to have a good look at all elements before attempting to clean it. You may either want to take it apart completely and reassemble it later, or bring it to a professional restorer instead.

With these four tips, I hope you will enjoy a new look at what stories your jewellery holds, and how to make sure they remain a part of its history!

Wondering how to clean and what method will yield the best results? Read this post on cleaning jewellery: 3 proven methods you can use at home – with their pro’s and con’s!

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More practical tips on managing your collection? Browse them all here!

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Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

Sigrid van Roode

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