Négociant 1870s

"Négociant" is a portrait photograph by Austrian photographer Raimund von Stillfried, taken in the 1870s. It depicts a Chinese man, likely a merchant, seated in traditional attire with a bonsai tree in the background. The photograph, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exemplifies Stillfried's work documenting the people and cultures of Asia during a period of intense Western interest in the region. The image's composition and soft, sepia tones capture the formality of the subject and the delicate beauty of the bonsai, offering a glimpse into the world of 19th-century Chinese commerce.