Portraits of Hamido Laâmbre c. 1884

This photograph, "Portraits of Hamido Laâmbre," was taken by Antonio Cavilla sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. Cavilla, an Italian photographer, worked in Tunisia during a time when European colonialism deeply impacted North Africa. Consider the power dynamics at play: a European photographer capturing the image of a Tunisian individual. Photography, during this period, was often used to exoticize and objectify people from colonized regions. This image may have served to reinforce prevailing stereotypes, or it may have been part of a more complex engagement with Tunisian culture. Historical archives may offer a more comprehensive understanding of Cavilla’s motivations, and of the role of photography in constructing ideas of race and identity during the colonial era. These archives allow us to interpret the image within its specific social and institutional context.