Studio portrait stereoview is one of the earliest depictions of the Kumeyaay (Tipai) people of northern Baja California and southern California. This image depicts six members of posed in elaborate ceremonial attire for a feast dance. Three men stand at the back wearing feathered headdresses and full body paint, their torsos marked with painted spots and decorative patterns, each holding or adorned with traditional dance implements. Two seated women, wrapped in patterned blankets, occupy the foreground, their expressions solemn and composed. Another male dancer, similarly painted and ornamented, stands at the right. The scene is set against a painted studio backdrop, its architectural elements contrasting with the ethnographic authenticity of the sitters’ regalia.

The image was taken by the San Diego photographer identified simply as “Parker.” Francis Parker operated as a landscape and portrait photographer in San Diego during the early 1870s, producing rare and important images of Native peoples of the region and has been credited as creator of this rare image. Parker's studio imprint appears prominently on the mount verso, with the handwritten title “Tejate,” possibly referencing the specific village or subgroup represented, and numbered “138.” The photograph likely dates to circa 1873, a period when Parker documented both the Kumeyaay of the San Diego area and Tipai groups from just south of the U.S.–Mexico border.

The Tipai, the southern division of the Kumeyaay, maintained distinct ceremonial traditions, including dances associated with seasonal gatherings, harvest celebrations, and communal feasts. Such dances incorporated body painting, symbolic costume elements, and elaborate headdresses made from local feathers and plant materials, often accompanied by songs and instrumental rhythms. Photographs of these ceremonies or ceremonial dress from the period are exceptionally scarce, as most were taken under studio conditions rather than in the field, and few have survived in fine condition with clear identification. This stereoview stands as an important document of indigenous culture during a transitional era, when U.S. expansion and cross-border pressures increasingly disrupted traditional life in the region.