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The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End
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Seydou Keïta (Malian, 1921(?)–2001)
Untitled [Two Women and a Girl in front of a Peugeot], 1959-60, print 1997
Gelatin silver print; 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 60.96 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph and Ceil Mazer Foundation Inc. Gift, 1997 (1997.361)
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The props used by Keïta to suggest his sitters' prosperity and modernity included cars (including a Peugeot, a Dauphine, and a Versailles), Vespas, bicycles, and radio sets. In this photograph, Keïta's own image behind the camera is reflected in the car's gleaming surface to the right of his posing subjects. Each of the women is different in scale and dressed in contrasting wax prints so that together they present a symphony of distinct designs against the reflective luster of the vehicle. The central woman's wax print is one that has been favored in West Africa and referred to as "Precious Beads Make No Noise."
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