Kinship in the Hills: Women of the Highlands, Burma, early 20th century

Details

• Museum-grade reproduction of an early 20th-century sepia-toned photograph

• Features two highland women in traditional wrap dress, one carrying a child

• Digitally restored for tonal richness and historical clarity

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

About the Artwork

This evocative portrait, taken between 1900 and 1930, captures two women from the highlands of Burma (now Myanmar) or Northern Thailand—a region home to many indigenous groups including the Karen, Chin, and Kayan. One woman carries a child on her back; the other, a tall bamboo basket. Their textiles, metal jewelry, and calm body language reflect a matrilineal rhythm of labor, kinship, and shared responsibility. Far from staged colonial portraits, this image radiates natural grace and intergenerational warmth amid the upland fields.