Frame size: 48.7 x 40.2 x 3.5 cm
The central figure, possibly Sultan Sulaiman of Selangor, stands in the middle, with his right profile featured and his left arm resting on the backrest of chair. The setting is akin to the set-up of a studio portrait with the props arranged as accompaniments to the portrait. Based on the visual observation by HCC conservator, the image is likely to be a black and white photograph with oil and pastel applied on to it. The 1900s-1940s was a period wherein the lines between painting and photography, patronage and individual practice are blurred. Between the 1900s and 1940s, hand-coloured photography was popular as gifts and souvenirs amongst elites and the middle class as the technique heightens the realism of monochrome photographs. This work is a rare example of Low’s experimentation with various media and a demonstration of the relationship between photography and painting in the early 20th century.
