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The Ordeal of the Hot Sword Blade

Photograph
ca. early 20th century (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Seeley, Service & Co. (photographers)
Orde-Browne, Granville St. John K.C.M.G. (Sir) (photographer)
Place of origin
Kenya (photographed)

An unmounted sepia-coloured photograph of five standing figures all with their tongues out.

Object details

Categories
The Royal Photographic Society
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
Titles
  • The Ordeal of the Hot Sword Blade (published title)
  • The vanishing tribes of Kenya : a description of the manners & customs of the primitive & interesting tribes dwelling on the vast southern slopes of Mount Kenya, & their fast disappearing native methods of life (series title)
Materials and techniques
bromide print
Photographic Paper
Photography
Bromide Process
Brief description
Photograph by Major Granville St. John Orde-Browne, 'The Ordeal of the Hot Sword Blade', bromide print, 1909-16
Physical description
An unmounted sepia-coloured photograph of five standing figures all with their tongues out.
Dimensions
  • Paper height: 8.5cm
  • Paper width: 11.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
Hot Knife Ordeal / Mwimbe / Chap "Witchcraft" or "Legal"'; various editorial annotations. (pencil, verso, paper)
Credit line
The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund
Object history
Acquired from the Seeley, Service & Co., publishers of Orde-Browne's 1925 volume on the tribes of Kenya. This photograph plate facing page 200 in the book.
Place depicted
Kenya
Other numbers
  • 12957 - Royal Photographic Society number
  • 16085 - RPS identifier - inventory no.
  • B10 - RPS identifier - box number
Collection
Department of Photography
Accession number
RPS.129-2023

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Record createdFebruary 2, 2023
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1743448/the-ordeal-of-the-hot-photograph-orde-browne-granville/
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