Los 4023

Ceylon
Portraits and commercial “types” from Ceylon

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Aus dem Katalog
Fotografie des 19. – 21. Jahrhunderts (Katalog nur online verfügbar)
Auktionsdatum 28.11.2026

Photographers: Scowen & Co. (active 1876-1893), The Colombo Apothecaries Co. Ltd. (active ca. 1892-1920s), and unknown. Portraits and “Types” from Ceylon. 1880s–1900. 6 albumen prints. Various sizes between 26,3 x 21 cm and 22,3 x 29 cm. 3 prints credited in the negative “Scowen & Co., Ceylon”; 1 marked “C.A. Co. Ltd.”; 1 print numbered “773”. Handwritten captions include “Kandyan Chiefs & Ladies. Ceylon.” and “Brahman Man Woman”; the original caption "Veddahs" appears in the negative on one print.

The group includes formal portraits of Kandyan families and a young girl, a couple in ceremonial dress, a coffee picker, and a portrait of two Vedda men. It brings together commissioned or carefully staged portraiture with commercial images made for the late nineteenth-century travel market. The historical captions reflect the colonial vocabulary through which Ceylon’s communities were then marketed.