36.00 USD
Gorgeous photo of a Bilen woman of Eritrea by photographer Aldo Baratti of Asmara, Eritrea.
In the 1890s, Aldo Baratti arrived with his family in Eritrea, a country that borders Ethiopia and the Sudan in the horn of Africa. The Baratti family was one of thousands that took part in the mad rush to Africa during its colonization by European powers, in the case of Eritrea, by Italy.
This is one of four postcards we recently acquired for the shop featuring photographs from a series Baratti produced titled Ragazza Bilena (Beautiful Bilen Woman). The card was published by Fotocelere (one of our favorite Italian publishers) in the early 1930s. Of particular interest is the model's pose. Baratti's aim, it is said, was to produce photographs of a "black Venus," and though we can't know what exactly he had in his mind, he intentionally posed his models in a western fashion, reminiscent of glamor and nude images popular in Europe during the early 20th century. The thoughtful pose, an extremely uncommon approach to photographs of African women in tribal dress during that period, is particularly telling.
Beautiful condition on this card and a really superb print! A remarkable postcard that is slightly larger than the typical, at around 4 by 6 inches. Please examine our high res scans for detail.
The item you are considering for purchase is, unless otherwise noted, a vintage postcard of approximately 5 and 1/2, by 3 and 1/2 inches. Postage is for fully-insured, first class shipping in a secure photo mailer (to avoid any damage to your purchase in the mails), and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will not charge for postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.