The act of sitting for a portrait in Seydou Keïta’s studio was a quiet but deliberate assertion of identity in a heady age of self-determination. Seydou Keïta, Untitled, ca. 1953–57 Seydou Keïta, Untitled, ca. Keïta’s photography is likewise rooted in the culture and currents of its time. By way of example, she points to the sanu koloni gold choker worn by many women who went to Keïta’s studio.