Young Boy with Tattoos - Burma, circa 1885 Photographer:
Adolphe Philip Klier Ref:
SK01303
The German photographer Adolphe Philip Klier (1845 - 1911) lived in Burma (presently called Myanmar) for several decades. He began his career in Moulmein (presently called Mawlamyine and currently the country's capital city) and subsequently opened a studio in Rangoon (presently called Yagon) in 1880. Klier was well known for offering, to 19th century photography enthusiasts, a vast collection of Burmese views and portraits. The studio portrait presented here shows a young boy, his body covered in tattoos. Presumably, the image was taken under the pretext of presenting a cultural phenomenon-- body art-- that was little known to westerns at the end of the 19th century, but there is also a sensuality in the portrait that gives the image another dimension.
