86 glass plates probably originating from Robert de Wavrin's trip to Paraguay.

8,4 x 9,9 cm, some broken, without legends or labels.

Kept in 2 wooden boxes.

To avoid a prison sentence and under violent circumstances marquis Robert de Wavrin (1888-1971) - descended from an ancient notable lineage dating back to the time of the Crusades - leaves his castle in Ronsele (Eastern Flanders) and travels to the jungle of South America. Between 1913 and 1936 he there becomes the adventurer who prefers to go to places where others do not go and discovers several tribes that never had been filmed before. As a photographer and filmmaker he develops as pioneer of the etnographic cinema. The marquis filmed ethnic tribes that have since disappeared such as the Pareci people from Paraguay and the tsantsa ritual of the shrunken human head by the headhunting tribe of the Shuar. De Wavrin is not just fascinated by the exotism or in search of a cheap thrill, but he truly is interested in the indigenous people he documented and calls for attention and respect towards their culture and mores. A completely different approach than prevailing in the colonial era. These glass plates most probably date from his first travels to South America between 1913 and 1917. On his later travels he developed on silver print and film. This collection shows: dwellings of/and indigenous people, women doing laundry on the riverside, a military fanfare, Western expedition members, indigenous people dressed in white on a market, herding cows on a farm, desembarking the ship Magdalena, ancient ruins, a small village on the hillside, some really nice portraits of indigenous people, westerners on a ship, a local merchant and shop, girls (!) and women smoking, women carrying loads onto a ship, mountain views, views from in the bush, mountain hikes with mules, people on a fishing boat, etc. It is possible Robert de Wavrin is figuring on one of the glass plates. It is certain they show not only indigenous people but also people from the West.