Portret van drie onbekende mannen van Meo afkomst voor een charpai before 1874

This albumen print, of three Meo men in what was then called Rajputana, was made by the commercial photography firm Shepherd & Robertson. It is an artifact of British colonialism, and it encapsulates the Victorian era's fascination with cataloging the peoples and cultures of the Empire. The photograph frames the men, their clothing, and a charpai—a traditional woven bed—as specimens for study. This approach reflects the colonial power dynamic, reducing individuals to types and reinforcing a sense of Western superiority. The men are identified as "Meos, Mussulmans, Rajputana," terms that highlight religious and regional identities, yet obscure individual stories. It's a stark reminder of how photography was used to construct and disseminate narratives about the "Other." Consider the gaze of these men. Do they meet the camera with curiosity, resignation, or defiance? The emotional weight of this image lies in the untold stories of these men, caught between cultural preservation and colonial imposition.