During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was a proliferation of staged photographs featuring Middle Eastern women, which were widely sold as postcards and souvenirs. These photographs were often reproduced as illustrated engravings or etchings in magazines. While predominantly reflecting the orientalist perspective prevalent in the art and literature of the era, the photographs were presented as authentic depictions of everyday life.

Here, illustrations made by European artisans, found in the Women’s Worlds in Qajar Iran Digital Archive (Harvard University), are juxtaposed with the photographs that appear to be their original sources from the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.