Artwork Page for Fruitsellers

Details / Information for Fruitsellers

Fruitsellers

c. 1880

Scowen & Co.

(British, active Ceylon, 1876–1895)
Culture
India, 19th century
Medium
Albumen print from glass plate negative
Measurements
Image: 20 x 27.2 cm (7 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Paper: 20 x 27.2 cm (7 7/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Mounted: 23.1 x 30.3 cm (9 1/8 x 11 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer 2018.40
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Occupational scenes like Fruitsellers were popular subjects in 19th-century colonial photography. Like this image of fruit sellers in colonial Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), such images provided armchair travelers with insight into local life and customs, as seen through European eyes.
A horizontally oriented albumen print in shades of brown depicts people with dark skin gathered before thatched and tiled buildings. To our left, a man holds a baby while another leans on a staff. In the center, two children sit on a low ledge. To our right, bananas hang above a man sitting cross-legged. Beside him, a woman and child stand near a woven birdcage. People wear light-colored wraps.

Fruitsellers

c. 1880

Scowen & Co.

(British, active Ceylon, 1876–1895)
India, 19th century

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