Women grinding corn in Sinai
London, United Kingdom
Victoria and Albert Museum
About Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1869
War Office Topographical Department (publisher); Royal Engineers (photographers)
Card; albumen stereoscopic print
Height: 8.5 cm Size of card, Width: 17.4 cm
Egypt, Sinai
Many of the most popular subjects of stereographs were of topographical views or of scenes unfamiliar to the western audience for whom they were generally produced. This group of Islamic women from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula is shown grinding corn. Their faces are hidden by veils. The veil turns away the gaze while at the same time attracting it. The secrecy of the veil prompted fascination for what was often seen as the mysterious and exotic world of the East or the 'Orient' to 19th-century western viewers. In contrast, the men in the background confront the camera.
'Woman grinding corn in Sinai', no. 3 in a series of Ordnance Survey of Sinai photographs by Royal Engineers for the War Office Topographical Department. Egypt, 1869
Victoria and Albert Museum "Women grinding corn in Sinai" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;uk;143;en
Prepared by: Victoria and Albert Museum
MWNF Working Number: Uk 143
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