Barbers

Attributed to John Thomson (Scottish, 1837 - 1921)

Dateca. 1870

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 3 7/16 × 2 1/8 inches (8.69 × 5.41 cm)
Mount: 4 1/8 × 2 7/16 inches (10.49 × 6.15 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation

Object number2015.67.63

Signednone

InscribedPrinted captions on paper, attached to mount verso, in black type: "Barbers. / The fashion of shaving the front of / the head, and braiding the hair into a / long queue was originally introduced by / the Tartar Conquerors of China: a first / by compulsion but is now followed from / choice--a long think queue is regarded / as a beauty--the natural hair is there- / fore generally supplemented by silk. / Every part of the face except the / eyebrows is shaved--the ears are bored / out, and the eyelids turned back and / cleaned; to this cause may be ascribed / the prevalence of ophthalmia and di- / seases of the ear. / Moustaches are never worn by the / Chines, --nor is the beard ever allowed / to grow until the age of 40 years is at- / tained or the dignity of a Grandfather / has been reached."

Markingsnone

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Terms

DescriptionHand colored image of a barber shaving the top of a man's head who has a long braid draped over his left shoulder. Another man with a heavy fur coat stands nearby and looks on. They appear to be outside.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Rotation 26. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 29, 2019- August 25, 2019, no cat.

Provenance

Hall Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO, 2015;
Given by the Hall Family Foundation to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.

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