Four chieftains of Kandy, Sri Lanka

Kandy was one of the kingdoms on the island off the southern coast of India now known as the country of Sri Lanka. The chieftains in this image are in traditional costume. Rather than pose them in a studio, the photographer took the picture outside, with two of the four men seated in Western-style chairs. Their distinctive costumes consist of a white court gown and flaring headgear crowned by a finial.
Photos such as this (including others in the Asian Art Museum's collection) were popular with European tourists because to them the costumes were exotic and picturesque.