Dr. Sohier: A Picture within a Picture

On 13 February 2014, Tsehai Publishers hosted a lecture entitled King of Kings and Photography: Political Image and Royal Power in Ethiopia that focused on the royal power in Ethiopia during the reign of Emperor Menelik II.

Dr. Estelle Sohier, a lecturer at the Department of Geography of the University of Geneva and author of Le Roi des rois et la photographie (The King of Kings and Photography), spoke about the history of creating photographs within the court, their uses, and their political stakes.

Dr. Estelle Sohier and Elias Wondimu

In her lecture, Dr. Sohier shed new light on a new perspective to the history of Ethiopian royalty at the beginning of the 20th century and its relations with the outside world. She showed that the use of photography played a crucial role in the recognition of Ethiopia as an independent state in that period.

Emperor Melelik II was the first Ethiopian leader to use photography in a systematic way, explained Dr. Sohier. By showing photographs, postcards, stamps, and church paintings, she lectured how the Emperor had been playing with the capacity of images to convey narratives within the court and out side the country.  She challenged the audience to look at pictures as not only an image but as a piece of historical document that would further help them understand the importance of details as historical archive.

Yaw Davis, Assupta Oturu, Dr. Sohier, Zewdinesh Taye

Estelle Sohier, Ph.D., received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Naples in 2007. Her thesis focused on the history of contemporary Ethiopia, and specifically on the political uses of images during the reigns of Menelik II and Haylé Sellasé (1880-1936). She wrote two books on Ethiopian Royality and their use of photography. 

Tsehai Publishers was proud to host another scholar who eagerly shared their insight with us and the larger community.   

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Danielle Irvin is an intern at Tsehai Publishers and can be contacted at dirvin1@lmu.lion.edu.

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