Biggest photo archive of 19th century China needs a new custodian, says US collector who amassed the 20,000-plus images
- US collector and philanthropist Stephan Loewentheil has accumulated over 20,000 photographs of China taken between 1850 and 1920
- He is looking for a new custodian of the collection – preferably an individual or institution in China. ‘That’s where it belongs,’ 70-year-old says
A woman wearing jade bracelets, her hair pulled back into a shiny bun, appears to rest a moment against a table. Over her shoulder peeps the curious face of a baby, carried in a sling on her back. Her expression is peaceful yet powerful, a young mother, perhaps, whose life has taken on new meaning.
Captured by the Pun Lun Studio in 1870s China, this photo is particularly rare on account of the fire that destroyed the studio’s negatives in 1876.
Another shows a street scene in a narrow alleyway. Figures peer out from behind an array of commercial signs for shops, offering everything from tea, noodles and dim sum to paper products, stone tortoises and floor bricks. Captured in the 1870s by A Chan Studio, it provides a fascinating glimpse into everyday life in China.
These are two of the 20,000-odd original images, dated between 1850 and 1920, in the Stephan Loewentheil Photography of China Collection that depict traditional architecture, nature, culture, craft and humanity, and the rituals, struggles and wonders of daily life.
As the largest and most important collection of early photography of China, it provides a rare visual record of the time – from the country’s stunning rivers and mountains, to its bustling trade and artisanship, to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. And it all belongs to one – in his own words, “slightly obsessive” – antiquarian, Loewentheil.
A lawyer by training, American-born Loewentheil assembled the collection over decades, with an emphasis on images of the highest artistic and historical quality.