Mestiza de Sangley (Filipina-Chinese Mestiza)

Mestiza de Sangley (Filipina-Chinese Mestiza)

A 18 x 24 cm. portrait taken by Dutch photographer Francisco Van Camp in the late 19th century of a beautiful young woman wearing traditional “Maria Clara.” The unknown mestiza de sangley is regarded as the “Mona Lisa” of the Pacific and recently included in “100-Year-Old Photos of the Most Beautiful Women of the Last Century.” In 19th century colonial Philippines under Spanish influence, there was a courtship tradition in which women conveyed their marital status by means of hand held fan; a half opened fan held in hand signified that a young lady was seeking a suitor as this portrait by Francisco van Camp “mestiza de sangley” taken at his studio in Manilla in 1875 which he took over from the British photographer Albert Honiss when he died in 1874. The Spaniards were the first ones to introduce photography to the Philippines dating back to 1841 using daguerreotype, was the first commercially successful photographic process (1839-1860) in the history of photography. Named after the inventor, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre who used unique image on a silvered copper plate.