Young (Fake Snake?) Circassian
Tintype. Sixth-Plate ferrotype is a re-photographed paper image (probably a Carte De Visite) of a 12-13 year-old girl in a white-collared and white-sleeved black dress with what appears to be a stuffed snake draped over her shoulders. The snakes's head looks too large for the body, the largest portion draped over her shoulder appeared oddly flattened, and the massive size of the snake seems to bear little weight onto the girl's shoulders. The tintype has a black back indicating earlier date of origin, i.e. possibly late-1860's but more likely 1870's.