Phra-Kéo-Pha, Frère du Roi
1866
Medium
Albumen silver prints from glass negatives
Dimensions
24.8 x 20.8 cm (9 3/4 x 8 3/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.501 (43)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Captured in 1866 by French photographermile Gsell, *Phra-Kéo-Pha, Frère du Roi is a striking albumen silver print from a glass negative, measuring 24.8 x 20.8 cm. The title translates to "Ph Kaeo Pha, Brother of the King," a high-ranking Siamese prince—likely a sibling of King Mongkut (ama IV)—in a formal pose that exudes royal authority. G, known for his pioneering work in Southeast Asia, Saigon and the court of Siam (modern-day Thailand), expertly used the era's cutting-edge photographic techniques to document exotic locales and nobility for Western audiences. The albumen process, involving...
About the Artist
Emile Gsell · 1838–1879
Emile Gsell (1838–1879) was a French photographer who became one of the earliest Western photographers to document Southeast Asia, particularly the ancient temples of Angkor in Cambodia. Born in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace, France, Gsell traveled to Indochina in the 1860s, establishing a photographic studio in Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City) that became a base for his documentary expedi...