Shantou (Swatow), Guangdong (Kwangtung) province, China: a woman with prominent coiffure. Photograph by John Thomson, 1871.

A girl, wearing a white garment, with an elaborate hair-style including a butterfly and a flower

In his portrayals of different types of female coiffures in different parts of China, the photographer John Thomson occasionally characterised his subjects in a manner similar to racial-stereotyping. This type of female coiffure was peculiar to a certain clan in Shantou region, and, according to Thomson, 'the facial type in this picture is one peculiar to certain of the natives of Swatow. The nose is prominent, well-formed, and straight, the upper lip short, the teeth white and regular, and the chin well cut.'

1871

1 photograph : glass photonegative, wet collodion

Swatow Bears Thomson's negative number: "810"

This is one of a collection of original glass negatives made by John Thomson. The negatives, made between 1868 and 1872, were purchased from Thomson by Sir Henry Wellcome in 1921

China through the lens of John Thomson, 1868-1872, Beijing: Beijing World Art Museum, 2009, p. (reproduced)

Wellcome Collection 19886i