The Baltayan family from Adana

The photograph shows the Armenian Baltayan family from the city of Adana: the mother and her two daughters. The mother is seated in the centre in a patterned blouse and a long dark skirt, and the girls stand on either side of her with long loose hair. The girl on the left wears a dress with buttons, the girl on the right a white dress. A carpet lies under their feet, and behind them is a painted backdrop.

Their clothing and gazes convey the family values of the time, modesty and inner dignity. The image is a silent testimony to Armenian life in Adana, a place that over the centuries passed under the rule of various states and powers.