Xhosa Woman Decorating Her Face, Transkei, South Africa

Object Details

Local Note: Original Constance Stuart Larrabee Number: 6-80; Contact Sheet Number: 306405-32

See more items in: Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection; Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection / Series 1: Photographs / Photographs / Xhosa Peoples, Transkei, South Africa

Sponsor: The cataloging of the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection was supported by a grant from The Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Extent: 1 Photographic print ((contact print)., b&w, 6 x 6 cm.); 1 Photographic print ((vintage print)., b&w, 8 x 10 in.)

Archival Repository: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Collection Citation: Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection, EEPA 1998-006, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Rights: Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Scope and Contents: Transkei Woman Decorating Her Face, 1947. She is sitting in front of a wall of a homestead with her left finger near her left eye applying white clay around the eye. This clay is obtained from the river or by scraping a soft, white stone. She paints her lips with the black nicotine, which is scraped out of the stem of a clay pipe. She is wearing a head wrap, beaded necklaces, beaded earrings, and bracelets. This photograph is apart of a series that is featured earlier in this shoot. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1947.; In 1947, Constance Staurt Larrabee visited the Transkei. She was there researching the housing problems in Southern Africa.; There is one 8x10 black and white vintage print. There is one 4x5 black and white copy negative as well as one copy print of that 4x5 negative. The original 6x6 cm. black and white negative is missing. EEPA has not produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.

Collection Restrictions: Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.