Marquesan Dancer Woman, circa 1882

cabinet photograph

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hoare, S. (Mrs.)
French Polynesia, Marquises, Îles; Société, Îles de la, Tahiti, Papeete
circa 1882
paper
overall: 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 in.

Cabinet photograph, albumen print; Marquesan Dancer Woman, circa 1882 (see Manuscript Coll. 311); collected by Captain Richard C. Mears (1829-1899) during his travels as a shipmaster to the South Pacific; photo of an image (drawing or etching) of a Marquesan woman engaged in a dance, wearing traditional clothing (most likely made from plant fibers), an elaborate head ornament, and is covered in full body tattoos; handwritten on back "Marqusian/ Dancer Woman/ well Tattooed"; printed on back "S. Hoare,/ Photographer,/ PAPEETE,/ TAHITI."

2005.34.58