A mandarin or merchant, and his family, Canton, 1860s

Title : A mandarin or merchant, and his family, Canton, 1860s

Topic : Other collections

Location : Canton

Estimated dates : 1860-1864

Nature : B&W Photo

Support image : Paper

Caption on support : Chinese family.

Information data : University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: UB01-05. From an album held in University of Bristol Library, Special Collections. A photograph by Milton M.Miller (American, active 1850s – 1870s), although a boy on the far right and some carpet in the foreground have been cropped off in this print. This print would appear to be a later print off Miller’s negative. This studio photograph is a staged 'costume portrait'. Whilst it illustrates a mandarin or merchant's family, it is very likely that the group was not in fact such a family. See essay about the various sitters in the group, by Wu Hung, in 'Brush & Shutter, Early Photography in China' edited by Jeffrey W. Cody and Frances Terpak (The Getty Research Institute, 2011).

Keywords : furniture;children;clothes;photography;Guangzhou