Object number1986.28.10

Hoeing Tea

DateNd

Artist English (English, NA)

CultureEnglish

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsSheet: 6 5/16 x 7 7/8 in. (16.03 x 20 cm)

Credit LineGift of Winston and Jeffrey Adler Collection of 19th Century Photography

On View

Not on view

Period19th c

Classification(s)

Photograph

InscribedOn recto in lower left corner: HOEING TEA 2666. On verso in upper left corner, in pencil: Coolies Hoeing Tea. On verso in center, in pencil: 2666. On verso in upper right corner: 4 (?). On verso at left center edge, in pencil: 4 (?). On verso in lower right, VCAG 86.28.10.

Label TextNazira is a town located in the Indian state of Assam, which is well known for its tea. During the 1830s, the tea plant Camellia sinensis, or Indian Assam, was discovered by the British. The East India Company’s Tea Committee saw this discovery as a means to separate from the monopoly of the Chinese tea industry. Initially the British contracted Chinese tea developers to produce Assam tea, however the Chinese maintained only the terms of their contracts, which did not include clearing jungle brush for tea plantations. Over the century, the British and the Assam Company tried to employ the local population before settling on hiring migrants outside of Assam, whose selection was rooted in racial stereotypes, primitivism, and the belief that the migrants were docile laborers that they could subjugate to their control. English photography studios in British India and British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) captured architecture, locals, and ‘aboriginals’ throughout the South Asian British colonial empire. Photos, such as the one to the left, reveal a colonial gaze, capturing a lush and barely tamed yet peaceful landscape with docile workers. In actuality, the migrant workers were isolated from the locals and subject to abusive treatment and harsh conditions. - Monique D’Almeida, Deknatel Curatorial Fellow in Japanese Works on Paper

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu