Young Egyptian woman. c.1875

Young Egyptian woman. c.1880

“Shoji Hamada at his studio”

Shoji Hamada.

“Afridi woman carrying water jar, Kohat Pass” c.1903.

Photo by: Gertrude Bell.

Egyptian children, c.1920

“Group of Yemenites Gathered Around Water Tap” c.1940-60

“The photographs in the Rother album represent “Operation Magic Carpet” in an acutely mythologized and stereotyped form. The notable absence of images of hardship related to migration, the depiction of the Yemenite Jews as “traditional” in contrast to “modern” and “Western,” and the vision of the migrants as exilic and de-historicized refugees all fuel the mythology. The photographs, without context and interpretation, reiterate the power, dominance and modernity of the State of Israel and cast the Yemenites as ignorant and primitive Jews. Given this framing of the images, it seemed likely that the photographs were commissioned either by the JDC or the State of Israel.”

From: “A Mysterious Collection: Musings on Archival Power and Historical Vulnerability” by Lianne Koren, 2020.

Doña Rosa of San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca.

“Indigenous woman making a bowl.” Oaxaca, Mexico c.1930-40s

“Another way of carrying large pots, reminiscent of the tameme (from the Nahuatl, tlamama) human carrier.”

“Figure 8.1. Examples of decorated African and African American manufactured pots. A. Yoruba (Fatunsin 1992); B. BaKongo funerary pot (after Thompson 1981:82); C-E. Ashanti (after DeCorse 2001:121); F-G. Carolina colonowares (after Ferguson 1992:11,31); H-I. Montserrat earthenwares (after Petersen et al. 1999: 167):J-K. monkey jar and coal pot from Barbados (after Loftfield 2001:227).”

From: “Sampling many pots: An archaeology of memory and tradition at a Bahamian plantation” by Wilkie, Laurie A.; 2005.

“The town of Kütahya has been famous for its potteries since the Middle Ages. Tiles, vases, and plates are produced, often decorated with patterns, flowers, or religious inscriptions.”

From: “peoples of Western Asia” 2006.

Somali woman, Aden , 1940.

From: “Freya Stark in Southern Arabia” by Freya Stark; 1995.

“Say 'un and Al Hauta. Dense cities of dried earth that are scattered over the wadi Hadramawt Double previous pope: Sana'a. The dark lacis of the streets responds the trace of the white sinuosities of the plaster on the facades”

“SCHIBAM. The most impressive city of Wadi Hadramaut. So far, only a few house buildings D violate the traditional construction method, several thousand years old.”

From: “Der Jensen: Nord-und Südjemen: antikes und islamisches Südarabien: Geschichte, Kultur and Kunst zwischen Rotem Meer und Arabischer Wüste” by Wald, Peter; 1980.

“WADI DAR. Defence tower made of stamped clay. Such towers were built until the middle of the 20th century. Century throughout southern Arabia as defenses against possible incursions of nomads”

From: “Der Jensen: Nord-und Südjemen: antikes und islamisches Südarabien: Geschichte, Kultur and Kunst zwischen Rotem Meer und Arabischer Wüste” by Wald, Peter; 1980.