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Archive record · Historical photographs & visual records

Untitled 47, Suri Woman with Lip Plate, Suri Village, Omo Valley, Ethiopia

February 2011

African history · place not specified

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art. Visual details below describe the original material.

Description provided by Doggett: "A Suri woman with lip plate. Practiced by women, lip ornamentation is one of the tribe's most celebrated and distinctive traditions. During the Zigroo, or piercing ceremony, two lower teeth are removed and an incision is made in the bottom lip. As each plate stretches the lip, it is replaced by a larger one, which increases a potential bride's worth in cattle.".

Collection
Drew Doggett Photographs
Catalog date
February 2011
Cataloged creator or photographer
Doggett, Drew
Format and extent
1 Photographic print (color; matted, 12 x 18 in. (print); 18 x 24 in. (matted))
About this record

This is a catalog record for historical archival material, not a biography. Catalog wording reflects the source record. Metadata reuse does not grant permission to reproduce restricted photographs or documents.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-20

Catalog reference: EEPA.2015-009, Item EEPA.2015-009-0016

Collection: Drew Doggett Photographs

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