A Quiet Exchange: Dao Women, Lào Cai Province, Vietnam, early 20th century

Details

• Museum-grade reproduction of an early 20th-century black-and-white photograph

• Features two Dao (Yao) women in traditional dress, conversing in a rural highland village

• Captures embroidered clothing, layered headdresses, and a quiet moment of social life

• Digitally restored for tonal precision and archival clarity

• Printed on cotton rag paper using pigment-based, fade-resistant inks

About the Artwork

Taken in Lào Cai Province in the far north of Vietnam around the turn of the 20th century, this image captures two women of the Dao (Yao) ethnic minority in a quiet, everyday moment. One stands holding a folded bamboo fan, smiling; the other is seated calmly, adorned in ornate headgear and ceremonial jewelry. Their clothing and posture speak to the continuity of highland tradition in the face of colonial change. With its subtle emotion and cultural richness, the photograph offers both historical insight and enduring human warmth.