Published 20/09/2019
A highlight of the collection is travel photography from English explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger, documenting a vanishing way of life in Arabia, Mesopotamia & Africa.
The Pitt Rivers Museum
Located in the heart of Oxford, the Pitt Rivers Museum has collected photographs ever since its foundation in 1884 by Lieutenant-General Augustus Pitt Rivers. Particularly strong in images from the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the collection contains important fieldwork archives, including the photographs of adventurers such as Sir Wilfred Thesiger.
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The Rise of Anthropology During the second half of the 19th century, a new scientific discipline developed rapidly: ethnology. Now formally known as social anthropology, its remit was the precise study of peoples and cultures. Although aimed at recording 'real' people, doing 'real' things, many of the photographs manifest a strong artistic element in their composition, hinting at the romantic Western view of their subjects. This can be seen in the careful positioning of figures within the frame of the photograph - not unlike portrait painting. The sweeping skies and wide landscapes, suggestive of a nineteenth century European association of wilderness with purity of spirit, achieve a similar effect. Thus, we can see that these photographs are much more complex than a photographic record of activities and clothing. |
Last of the Great Explorers
Sir Wilfred Thesiger belongs to a long tradition of English gentleman explorers who had one foot in the world of colonial rule and the other in a deep fascination of other cultures. An adventurer at heart, he left the rarefied world of Oxford University for the exotic allure of East Africa at the earliest opportunity and spent the following decades absorbed in the exploration of foreign lands.
Thesiger is best known today for his travel writing: Arabian Sands (1959) and The Marsh Arabs (1964) are particularly well-loved by those who hanker after a golden age of intrepid discovery. Now, with the digitisation of thousands of negatives bequeathed to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Thesiger's cherished journalism is matched by an extraordinary collection of photographs which vividly portray the splendour and romance of travel.
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Africa, Arabia, and Mesopotamia
The endless sand dunes of Arabia's legendary Empty Quarter presented Thesiger with his severest privations and perhaps his most stunning photographic opportunities. But what emerges most clearly from this collection is how often the explorer turned his lens on his guides and travelling companions. Thesiger respected his Bedouin friends tremendously, adopting their dress and becoming willingly absorbed into their way of life.
The same can be said of his travels amongst the Madan of the Iraqi marshlands, where his photography goes beyond the documenting of traditional customs to bring his subjects to life through candid, even affectionate, portraits. Whether in Africa, Arabia or Mesopotamia, Thesiger managed to capture a timeless charm in the people and places that he loved, and a dazzling record of his own wanderlust.
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Find out more
View all images from the Pitt Rivers Museum collection on the Bridgeman website available for licensing.
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