Borneo, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This is a chromolithograph titled 'Borneo,' created around the late 19th century by Wm. S. Kimball & Co., as part of their 'Dancing Girls of the World' series. The card presents a dancer in mid-performance, set against a backdrop that merges exoticism with commercial appeal. The dancer’s pose, with one leg raised, creates a dynamic tension, further emphasized by the swirling fabric that seems to defy gravity. The composition is carefully arranged, using the dancer's body to bisect the card, drawing the eye between the foreground and the stylized landscape. The tension and the composition highlights the construction of identity. Here the dancer is coded through clothing and exotic scenery. It's a constructed image aimed at a Western audience. In this way, the card serves not just as a commercial object but as a signifier of cultural exchange and power dynamics, reflecting how images mediate our understanding of the world. The formal qualities invite us to question how we assign meaning to cultural symbols.