Huid en een opgezette kop van een luipaard before 1880

This is a photograph of a leopard skin and taxidermied head, made by Nicholas & Co., likely in the late 19th century. Although photography is typically seen as a modern medium, here it’s used to record an object associated with much older histories of hunting and taxidermy. Consider the material implications of this image. The leopard skin speaks to a whole network of labor; from the hunters who killed the animal, presumably for commercial gain, to the taxidermists who prepared it, to the photographers who documented it for circulation. This wasn't a traditional art material, but rather an animal, transformed by various processes into a commodity. The image itself acts as a kind of trophy, just like the skin. It's an object of display, meant to convey status and power. The photograph flattens and commodifies the leopard, turning it into an exotic souvenir. It's a stark reminder of how the natural world has long been exploited for human consumption and aesthetic pleasure, a cycle of labor and consumption that continues today.