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Kchi Kafrosh – Antique Framed Color Print
€49Bid from €44.10
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ProfessionalProduct description
It was printed in thousands of copies, traveled from one country to another, and eventually became, far from its place of creation, a true popular icon. This young woman is known as Kchi Kafrosh, sometimes spelled Kichi Kafrosh. Her long dark hair, the rows of pearls covering her neck and bodice, the pink feathers tucked into her coiffure, and her blue star-studded garment make up an instantly recognizable portrait. The story of this image is even more fascinating than that of its subject. From the late 19th and especially throughout the 20th century, advances in color printing enabled the large-scale production of decorative images intended for export. Kchi Kafrosh is one of these portraits that gained extraordinary popularity in the East, particularly in the Middle East, Kurdistan, and as far as India, but also in North Africa. These images were not intended for galleries. They went directly into homes. Framed and hung on walls, they sat alongside family photographs, souvenirs, and everyday objects. Over the decades, some became so familiar that they eventually became fully ingrained in the popular culture of the regions that had adopted them. Kchi Kafrosh achieved a particularly remarkable destiny in Kurdistan, where her portrait was reproduced and preserved for several generations, eventually earning the nickname "Mona Lisa of Kurdistan." The identity of the subject and the stories attached to her portrait have given rise to various interpretations. The young woman sometimes changes name and story depending on the country. This legendary aspect now accompanies the image itself and testifies to how a printed representation can be adopted, transformed, and transmitted by multiple cultures. The copy presented here is part of this widespread popular circulation. It is an old color print, preserved under glass in its original period frame. The frame features a brown patina with coppery hues, while the reverse retains its cardboard backing, retaining strips, and old hanging system. The piece shows the marks of its age, visible in the photographs. These have been preserved, like the mounting, without attempting to erase what the decades have left behind. Kchi Kafrosh was meant to be an accessible, multiplied, and widely distributed image. Time decided otherwise. The copies that remained in their old frames now tell a discreet chapter in the history of images and their circulation in the 20th century. And after all these years passed from house to house and country to country, her gaze has still not left the frame. Dimensions approximately 22 x 26 cm, mid-20th century.
Additional details:
- Brand: 20eSiecle
- Material: Impression
- Material: Cadre
- Material: Carton
- Colour: Brun
- Colour: Cuivré
- Period: milieu du XXe siècle
Specifications
CategoryLithographs & printsConditionGoodColorsMulti Color, Pink, Blue, GoldMaterialGlass, Paper, WoodStyleVintageSeller locationSaint symphorien des bois, FranceDelivery optionsDelivery or pickup
Seller information
About this seller
ProfessionalSaint symphorien des bois, FranceOn Whoppah since August 2026 • 2 sales