Finding Aid for Views of Southeast Asia, circa 1870-circa 1910
Beth Guynn
Descriptive Summary
Title: Views of Southeast Asia
Date (inclusive): circa 1870-circa 1910
Number: 98.R.2
Physical Description:
38 photographic prints
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The collection of photographs contains
views of archaeological sites, ruins, temples, stupas, and landscapes, as well as portraits
of local and European residents in Southeast Asia.
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Language: Collection material is in English
Biographical/Historical Note
The photographs in this collection were taken in Southeast Asia by various photographers,
known and unknown, between 1870 and 1910. Four of the photographs are attributed to or
blindstamped by Woodbury & Page. The young Englishmen Walter B. (Bentley) Woodbury
(1834-1885) and James Page (1835-1865) met while seeking their fortunes in the Australian
gold rush of the 1850s. In 1857, they traveled to Java and opened the Woodbury & Page
portrait studio in Weltevreden, Batavia (now Jakarta). Although Page returned to England in
1860, and Woodbury returned in 1864, the firm Woodbury & Page existed in Java until
1901, run first by Woodbury's younger brothers (Henry James and Albert), and later by Adolf
Groth. Woodbury's career in photography continued after his return to England. He is best
known for inventing the Woodburytype process (photo-relief printing). Three photographs are
attributed to Kassian Cephas (1845-1912), the first native Javanese professional
photographer. He had a studio in Yogyakarta and was appointed painter and photographer to
the court in 1871. He was a member of the Royal Institute for Linguistics and Anthropology
(Leiden) and the Archaeological Union of Yogyakarta, which commissioned his photographic
campaigns at Prambanam and Borobudur.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Views of Southeast Asia, circa 1870-circa 1910, Getty Research Institute, Research Library,
Accession no. 98.R.2
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa98r2
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1998.
Processing History
Processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn; finding aid encoded by Holly Larson with grant
funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains 38 photographs, either albumen or gelatin silver prints, of
archaeological sites, ruins, temples, stupas, and landscapes, as well as portraits of local
and European residents in Southeast Asia.
Among the views of sites and monuments are the Buddhist ruins of Borobudur, Prambanan,
Mendut, and Wringin Lawang in Central and East Java. Five photographs are annotated "Angier
Java," but are mostly likely of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There is one view of the Golden
Palace Monastery in Myanmar (formerly Burma), one of a temple at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya in
Thailand, and eight unidentified temples, stupas, and relief sculptures. Photographs of Java
include two views of the mountain village of Tosari, one of the Tengger caldera, showing the
smoking volcanoes Bromo and Semeru, and views of the aloon-aloon, or city square, and the
Mas river in Surabaya. Portraits include a Thai (?) ruler wearing a tall crown and a priest
holding a staff topped by a petaled mandala-like ornament.
Some items have brief English annotations written on the mount or verso in an unidentifed
nineteenth-century hand. These have been used as titles for the photographs. Consequently,
some titles may include language now considered to be racist or biased.
Arrangement
Arranged by cataloger by geographical location or site.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Buddhist temples -- Cambodia -- Angkor (Extinct city)
Mendut (Temple : Magelang, Indonesia)
Monuments -- Southeast Asia
Buddhist priests -- Southeast Asia
Sculpture, Javanese
Borobudur (Temple : Magelang, Indonesia)
Mya Nan San Kyaw (Mandalay, Burma)
Sculpture, Khmer -- Cambodia -- Angkor (Extinct city)
Buddhist temples -- Indonesia
Buddhist temples -- Southeast Asia
Volcanoes -- Indonesia
Subjects - Places
Cambodia -- Description and travel
Trowulan (Indonesia) -- Antiquities
Angkor Wat (Angkor)
Southeast Asia -- Antiquities
Southeast Asia -- Buildings, structures, etc.
Prambanan (Indonesia) -- Antiquities
Singapore -- Description and travel
Tengger Mountains (Indonesia) -- Description and travel
Thailand -- Description and travel
Southeast Asia -- Description and travel
Southeast Asia -- Kings and rulers
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (Thailand) -- Antiquities
Java (Indonesia) -- Antiquities
Genres and Forms of Material
Gelatin silver prints -- Southeast Asia -- 19th century
Albumen prints -- Southeast Asia -- 19th century
Contributors
Cephas, Kassian,
1845-1912
Woodbury &
Page
folder 1
Southeast Asia - views and people
folder 1
98.R.2-1
Woodbury & Page (attributed), Tosari,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print. Steep mountain road leading to Tosari,
Java. For another copy of this print see Special Collections accession number
2002.R.6-40.
folder 1
98.R.2-2
Woodbury & Page (attributed),Tosari,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Steep mountain road with stick railings, Tosari, Java.
Gelatin silver print.
folder 1
98.R.2-3
Photographer unidentified, Brono,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print. View of the Tengger caldera with
smoking Bromo volcano, and Semeru volcano in the background.
folder 1
98.R.2-4
Photographer unidentified, Aloon-Aloon Soerabay,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Street vendors on the aloon-aloon (city square), Soerabaya.
Gelatin silver print.
folder 1
98.R.2-5
Photographer unidentified, Kali-mas, Soerabai,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print.
Mas river with sampans, Surabaya, Java.
folder 1
98.R.2-6
Photographer unidentified, [River Village with Sampans],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 315. Gelatin silver print.
folder 1
98.R.2-7
Woodbury & Page, (attributed),Javanese cart,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Thatched ox cart. Gelatin silver print. For another copy of
this print see Special Collections accession number 2002.R.6-8.
folder 1
98.R.2-8r
Photographer unidentified, [Group of Men and Boys in front of a
Hut],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print.
folder 1
98.R.2-8v
Photographer unidentified, [European-style House with People on
Porch],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print.
folder 1
98.R.2-9r
Photographer unidentified, [Portrait of a Ruler Wearing a Tall
Crown],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print.
folder 1
98.R.2-9v.1
Photographer unidentified, [Two Young Girls],
undated
folder 1
98.R.2-9v.2
Photographer unidentified, [Young Girl],
undated
folder 1
98.R.2-9v.3
Photographer unidentified, [Buddhist Priest Holding a Staff],
undated
Scope and Content Note
The staff is topped by a petaled mandala-like ornament.
folder 1
98.R.2-9v.4
Photographer unidentified, [Family Portrait],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print. Group portrait of a mother, father, and daughter.
folder 1
98.R.2-10
Woodbury & Page, Coffee Plantation,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title on verso. The photograph bears the Woodbury & Page blind stamp. Albumen
print. Depicts a man on horseback near a wooden bridge on a country path.
folder 2
98.R.2-11
Photographer unidentified, Portico Angle of the Gallery, Angier
Java,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title from typed label on verso. Albumen print.
folder 2
98.R.2-12
Photographer unidentified, [Facade of the Grand Principal Pagoda, Angier,
Java],
circa 1870s
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Albumen print.
folder 2
98.R.2-13
Photographer unidentified, South Side of the Grand Pagoda, Angier,
Java,
circa 1870s
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Albumen print.
folder 2
98.R.2-14
Photographer unidentified, South Side of the Grand Principal Pagoda. Angier,
Java,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title typed on verso. Typed label on mount: The Gallery, Angier, Java. Numbered on
verso: 35. Albumen print.
folder 2
98.R.2-15
Photographer unidentified, The Gallery, Angier, Java,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title typed on mount. Albumen print.
folder 3
98.R.2-16r
Photographer unidentified, [Tree-lined Street],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print.
folder 3
98.R.2-16v
Photographer unidentified, [View of Borobudur],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print.
folder 3
98.R.2-17
Photographer unidentified, [First Gallery, Main Wall Relief Sculpture,
Borobudur],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Albumen print. 1st register: The dream of Queen Maya, ladies listening to her retell
the story and courtiers receiving the Brahman. 2nd register: Women fetching water from
a lotus pond; a prince drops a ring into a vessel (Ib 16).
folder 3
98.R.2-18
Photographer unidentified, [Relief Sculpture: Sudhana Visiting a Physician
(II 20), , Borobudur],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 90. Gelatin silver print.
folder 3
98.R.2-19
Photographer unidentified, [Relief Sculpture: First Gallery, North Face,
Borobudur],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Written on verso: Boer-Bodoer. Gelatin silver. Upper register 1: Sakyamuni Buddha –
Bathing of the crown prince. Upper register 2: Sakyamuni Buddha watering a tree. Lower
register: King Rudrayana – Ministers sailing to new island and giving alms to
inhabitants. Lower register 2: Revering a stupa.
folder 3
98.R.2-20
Cephas, Kassian (attibuted), [First Gallery, North Face, Relief Sculpture
#86, Borobudur],
undated
Scope and Content Note
In negative: 96. ___gang. __vaswand, N.W. aÿar. Bbudur, mei 1901. Gelatin silver
print. Upper register: Sakyamuni Buddha – Bathing of the crown prince. Lower register:
King Rudrayana – Ministers sailing to new island and giving alms to inhabitants.
folder 4
Prambanan, Candi Mendut, and Candi Wringin Lawang
folder 4
98.R.2-21
Cephas, Kassian (attributed), [Relief Sculptures, Exterior Niches, and
Balustrade, Prambanan],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 6. Gelatin silver print. For another copy of this print see
Special Collections accession number 2002.R.5-34.
folder 4
98.R.2-22
Cephas, Kassian (attributed), Doergâ, Prambaňan,
1895 Apr
Scope and Content Note
Title in negative with: 1 meter. Gelatin silver print. Hindu goddess Durga standing
on a bull.
folder 4
98.R.2-23
Photographer unidentified, Mandoet,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print.
View of Candi Mendut with two European women on the steps.
folder 4
98.R.2-24
Photographer unidentified, Hindoo Temple at Lawang,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print.
View of Candi Wringin Lawang.
folder 5
Burma, Singapore, Thailand
folder 5
98.R.2-25
Queen's Golden Monastery,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Written on photograph: Queen's Golden Mausoleum. Gelatin
silver print.
Shwenandaw Monastery/Golden Palace Monastery, Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar)
folder 5
98.R.2-26
Singapore,
1870s
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Written on mount: Miss Catherine Agnes Beasley Jan 1 1870.
Recd 13th March in a letter dated Singapore 1St Feb 1870. Albumen print.
Young woman on horse with attendant.
folder 5
98.R.2-27
Ruins at Ayouth'a,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Title written on verso. Gelatin silver print.
Temple with three towers, Phra Nakon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand.
folder 6
98.R.2-28
Photographer unidentified, [South Chinese-style Nine-storied Stone
Pagoda],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Numbered on verso: 150. Gelatin silver print.
folder 6
98.R.2-29
Photographer unidentified, [Boy on Stone Pathway in Woods Looking at a
Monument],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print.
folder 6
98.R.2-30
Photographer unidentified, [Stone Pathway in Woods with Small Temple to
Side],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print.
folder 6
98.R.2-31
Photographer unidentified, [Tiled Chinese-style Rooftops with Pagoda behind
Them],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print.
folder 6
98.R.2-32
Photographer unidentified, [Two Boys Pointing at a Temple],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print. Temple has pagoda tower statues and other figures.
folder 6
98.R.2-33
Photographer unidentified, [Group of Tall, Ornate Stupas in a Temple
Complex],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 77. Gelatin silver print, blue-toned.
folder 6
98.R.2-34
Photographer unidentified, [Temple Complex with Statuary],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print.
folder 6
98.R.2-35r
Photographer unidentified, [Conical Monument or Stupa with Statute of Buddha
inside],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print. Possibly Burma (?)
folder 6
98.R.2-35v
Photographer unidentified, [Temple Entrance Flanked by Two Enormous Guardian
Figures],
undated
Scope and Content Note
Gelatin silver print. Possibly Thailand (?)