Portret van een onbekende Japanse vrouw met kokyū 1860 - 1890

Curator: This albumen print, taken sometime between 1860 and 1890, is titled "Portret van een onbekende Japanse vrouw met kokyū" – or "Portrait of an Unknown Japanese Woman with Kokyu." It comes to us from the studio of Shin-E-Do. Editor: The sepia tones lend it this dreamy, almost ethereal quality. She's like a ghost, perfectly poised with that…is that a lute? Curator: It's a kokyū, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. It’s interesting to consider how these photographic portraits often reinforced, and perhaps also complicated, Western perceptions of Japanese culture during that period. Think about the lens of Orientalism. Editor: Oh, absolutely. It’s hard to look at images like this now without considering the power dynamics inherent in that gaze. There's a constructed-ness to it. Posed, serene...is she performing a role for the camera as much as embodying one? Curator: Precisely. We see her holding the kokyū, in what seems to be traditional clothing. This invites a deeper inquiry into how identity is performed, especially when mediated through colonial perspectives. Was this photo intended for Japanese or Western audiences, and how would that have shaped its reception? Editor: Right. And you wonder about the agency of the woman herself. Was she complicit in this portrayal, or a subject acted upon? Also, I keep thinking about the texture of the silk, the instrument, the light in the background...you can almost feel the quiet of the studio. Curator: Yes, the interplay of light and shadow is masterful. It speaks volumes about the technical skill involved, while also suggesting deeper metaphorical themes of revelation and concealment. These early photographs can unveil certain aspects of cultural representation, yet always retain secrets, questions about the unnamed subject and the photographer's intentions. Editor: That sense of untold stories is why I'm drawn to it. It’s both a portrait and a kind of enigma. Curator: Indeed, its visual richness and layered meanings compel us to continuously question and reimagine its historical context and contemporary resonance. Editor: It makes you consider the sitter’s own sense of self in relation to how she was, perhaps, made to appear. Makes you wonder about her, you know?