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Meqise Performing Massage, Scene 3

A bathhouse masseur standing on a seated man’s back while performing an intensive massage inside a sulfur bath.

A traditional meqise applying deep-pressure massage in a Tiflis sulfur bath.

This photograph captures a traditional meqise at work inside a sulfur bath in Tiflis. The masseur employs a physically intensive technique, including standing on the client’s body to apply controlled pressure. The image documents a profession deeply embedded in the urban bath culture of 19th-century Tiflis.

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Date
XIX century
Source
Georgian Museum of Photography
Attribution
Giorgi Gersamia Collection
Rights
Archive holding - Contact museum for licensing
Old TbilisiSocial Types, Trades & ProfessionsSocial Types – Kintos & Urban Characters