Groepsportret van een Europese man, aangeduid als Delberg, en twee Javaanse sieradenverkopers, vermoedelijk in fotostudio Gah Hien in Jogjakarta c. 1916 - 1918

This photograph was likely created in the Gah Hien studio in Yogyakarta, and shows a European man, identified as Delberg, with two Javanese jewelry sellers. The image, created using photographic processes, captures more than just a scene; it encapsulates a complex web of social and economic relationships. Photography itself, a technology of the industrial age, here becomes a tool to frame intercultural exchange. Note the jewelry boxes and trays, carefully crafted to display their precious contents. The act of photographing these vendors alongside their wares underscores the intersections of labor, trade, and representation. The European man's gaze, and indeed our own, is directed toward these crafted objects, and implicitly toward those who made them. Yet the photograph's existence also highlights the photographer's own labor, skill, and cultural positioning. Ultimately, this image invites us to consider the labor involved not only in the making of jewelry, but also in the making of the photograph itself.