Portret van Sakoonath 1900 - 1910

Editor: Here we have "Portret van Sakoonath," a photograph from around 1900 to 1910, housed in the Rijksmuseum. It captures a woman in traditional Indian dress. There’s something so immediate and intimate about the pose, hands behind her head. How do you interpret this work in terms of its historical context? Curator: It’s impossible to look at a portrait like this from the early 20th century, particularly one labeled "Britsch Indische", without considering the power dynamics inherent in colonial representation. How does the photographer's gaze impact Sakoonath's portrayal? Is she an active participant or a passive subject? Editor: That’s a good point. I hadn’t considered the colonial implications so directly. What else strikes you about it? Curator: I'm also interested in what isn't being said. The adornment suggests wealth, but it’s also about cultural identity. Are these signifiers of status, or are they symbols of resistance in the face of colonial influence? What stories might be woven into those bracelets and necklaces? I encourage listeners to consider, whose narrative are we truly seeing here? Is it Sakoonath's, the photographer's, or a combination of both, filtered through a very specific historical lens? Editor: So, it's almost a document of both a person and a power dynamic? I’ll never be able to look at it in the same way again. Curator: Exactly. It prompts a deeper inquiry into the circumstances of its creation and what it tells us about representation, then and now.