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Kora Player [Joueur de Cora]

early 20th century
Not on view
Traveling with their camera and a rolled backdrop, photographers, such as Hostalier, could reach a wider clientele across the region. In this carefully orchestrated mise-en-scène, a man holds a kora, a stringed instrument from West Africa, and stands in front of a painted backdrop of a Senegalese village hidden among palm trees. His position suggests movement, as if he were playing his instrument while walking by his village. The pose and prop identify him as a griot, or historian, the guardian of noble families’ histories and lineages. The composition’s theatricality, enhanced by the presence of the backdrop, tells us more about the mythical figure of the griot than the sitter’s own identity.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kora Player [Joueur de Cora]
  • Artist: Louis Hostalier (Senegal) (French, active ca. 1890–1912)
  • Artist: A.B. & Co.
  • Date: early 20th century
  • Geography: Senegal
  • Medium: Postcard format photomechanical reproduction
  • Dimensions: 5 1/4 × 3 1/4 in. (13.3 × 8.3 cm)
  • Classification: Postcards
  • Credit Line: Visual Resource Archive, The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
  • Object Number: VRA.PC.AF.08
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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West Africa (Senegal) Dakar—Native griot with his guitar [Afrique Occidentale (Sénégal) Dakar—Griot indigène avec sa guitare], Louis Hostalier (Senegal) French, Postcard format photomechanical reproduction published by Metharam Bros. et Cie. Dakar
West Africa (Senegal) Dakar—Native griot with his guitar [Afrique Occidentale (Sénégal) Dakar—Griot indigène avec sa guitare]
Louis Hostalier (Senegal)
Metharam Brothers et Cie
ca. 1900
In Nioro (Sudan)—Wives and son of Wolof trader [A Nioro (Soudan)—Femmes et Fils de Marchand Ouolofes], Louis Hostalier (Senegal) French, Postcard format photomechanical reproduction
In Nioro (Sudan)—Wives and son of Wolof trader [A Nioro (Soudan)—Femmes et Fils de Marchand Ouolofes]
Louis Hostalier (Senegal)
Déposé
ca. 1900–1910
Group Portrait with Record Player, Senegalese photographer, Postcard format gelatin silver print
Group Portrait with Record Player
Senegalese photographer
1920s–1930s
Woman, Unidentified, Postcard format gelatin silver print
Woman
Unidentified
1920s–1930s
Dakar—Mulatto (Senegal) [Dakar—Mulâtresse (Sénégal)], Jean Benyoumoff Senegalese, Postcard format photomechanical reproduction published by Jean Benyoumoff
Dakar—Mulatto (Senegal) [Dakar—Mulâtresse (Sénégal)]
Jean Benyoumoff
1900–1910

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