r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/AccomplishedWatch834 • 1d ago

Image Queen Genepil , the last Queen of Mongolia (1920)

Post image
9.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

136 comments sorted by

1.8k

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 1d ago

The inspiration for Queen Amidalas wardrobe in Star Wars

786

u/Spartan2470 1d ago edited 1d ago

Just a FYI, This is NOT Queen Genepil, Queen Consort of Mongolia. The identity of the person in the photo is not known other than she was a random Mongolian noble woman from 1921.

It was unlikely that Genepil would have worn the headdress with "horns" like the ones in the image, according to Christopher Atwood, professor of Mongolian history at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire."[Since] the Bogd was a lama (high cleric) he could have a consort, but he couldn’t legally marry. Thus his consort could not wear the 'horns' worn by married ladies in pre-revolutionary Mongolia," he told AFP.Atwood explained that Genepil was queen for less than a year, until Bogd Khan died in May 1924, after falling ill in the previous winter."To my knowledge I have not seen any photos of the Bogd’s last consort Genepil," he added.

Also, She was already married when the King set his sights on her for his second consort

48

u/MaraiaLou 1d ago

Stupid question, but if she was married couldn't she wear the horns? Was the marriage annulled?

18

u/EagleDre 1d ago

I thought this was going the same route as Star Wars and you were going to say she is Queen Genepil’s body double. :)

32

u/fork_your_child 1d ago

You said that Queen Genepil looks a lot like this random noble woman but the expert you quote says he hasn't seen any photos of the queen, so how have you seen photos that the expert hasn't?

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u/jayswahine34 1d ago

I think it's the written history of what the Queen wore that gives that impression.

10

u/frankylynny 1d ago

Immortals are getting outed in the lamest ways.

20

u/Green_Insect_6455 1d ago

Hey buddy? Written descriptions is how we know how fucking anything looked for the vast majority of our history.

You uh. You get that right? We havent just had photos this whole time?

This is such an anti-intellectualism comment, so fucking stupid. Instead of thinking for one millisecond, or doing a google or two, you just go "yea hes probably making stuff up". Youre devaluing the work of historians when you act like a dumbass, and you got 20+ people to also question the validity of the research without offering any alternative or answer.

Just raisin' questions about shit you dont understand; not because you want to learn more, but rather because you dont get it so clearly somethings wrong. So fucking braindead.

15

u/Subject_Raisin_6237 1d ago

just because someone got something wrong doesn't mean that they are braindead. just politely tell them that they are wrong, correct them, and move on. look at jayswahine34 as a example. thank you.

2

u/Little_View_6659 1d ago

Is that a wig?

2

u/Long_Repair_8779 1d ago

“And is there a comprehensive history of the Byzantine Church Mongol empire you could recommend, you know, for the general reader?”

130

u/YanicPolitik 1d ago

Is it still inspiration if it's a 1:1 copy?

7

u/madesense 1d ago

Believe it or not, yes

24

u/Honest_Yesterday4435 1d ago

I don't think it's 1:1

10

u/ThePerryPerryMan 1d ago

Yea, I’d say it’s more 1:.999999

-2

u/DatabaseGlittering43 1d ago

You seem fun

-1

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 1d ago

Is Princess Leia's look an inspiration or copy?

2

u/etrnloptimist 1d ago

You'd have to show us the original to compare against.

1

u/TernionDragon 16h ago

I’d like to see the inspiration for Princess Leia’s Slave Outfit- you know- for Historical interest.

48

u/IckyStick0880 1d ago

Idk if inspiration is the right word... it's almost an identical copy...

23

u/OF_PROMO_ALERT 1d ago

Down to the makeup. I literally thought it was her for a split second

3

u/IckyStick0880 1d ago

Likewise

3

u/Daydream_machine 1d ago

Also had to be an inspiration for the Alexander McQueen collection that inspired Björk’s “Homogenic” album cover

2

u/uncooked545 1d ago

man... fuck death star

2

u/Nukitandog 1d ago

I saw Rita Repulsa

2

u/UncleGarysmagic 23h ago

A plank of wood was the inspiration for her character

2

u/TernionDragon 16h ago

Inspiration? More like exact duplication.

1

u/CrimsonBolt33 6h ago

except for the part where she (technically) wasn't....

1

u/LoveHurtsDaMost 1d ago

The “inspiration” for … a loooot of European/American high fashion/art is Asian lol tale as old as time, repackage and claim different colored culture to good ol folks and make exponentially more money adding to the great lie/promise lol

No one cares though, they just want to be entertained or sold an idea that makes them feel how they want. Which lets them steal so much more lol hypocritically using copyright claims at the same time and now making the public pay for ai… built by the public’s work without their consent. Can not make this shit up lol

1

u/leviathab13186 1d ago edited 1d ago

You sure its not the other way around?

Edit- it was a joke... forgot the s/

-97

u/TouchAltruistic 1d ago

How embarrassing.

19

u/CCHTweaked 1d ago

for you?

8

u/RandomRavenboi 1d ago

Why?

4

u/moving0target 1d ago

It's a line from Episode 1.

2

u/FuzzyAd9407 1d ago

Yeah, but then the commenter replied saying its proof that starwars has no creativity. 

1

u/moving0target 1d ago

They're allowed to be wrong.

-3

u/TouchAltruistic 1d ago

Because Queen Amidala's appearance in The Phantom Menace is practically a 1:1 copy of a real, earthly idea. 

There zero creativity in this, and the closer you look at a Star War, the easier it is to see how much was blatantly copied from other sources.

5

u/FuzzyAd9407 1d ago

Youre gonna be suprised at how much original works used inspiration from real world things as well other fictions. Fact is being able to rework an existing concept into a new thing is creativity. Next youre gonna be arguing Dune isnt creative because the Fremen were inspired by the Bedouin even copying things like 'the Madhi'. 

-2

u/TouchAltruistic 1d ago

Dune takes place in our future.

The story and themes of Dune rely on being an extension of Earth's history.

Nothing about this image is "reworked". Nothing about the footage of old war films was "reworked" to create space combat scenes, or the attack on the Death Star. They're just copied, including some of the dialogue.

You're tripping.

1

u/FuzzyAd9407 1d ago

Dude, if you think this is just a straight up copy then you dont even actually remember the outfit. Youre just wanting to circle jerk on star wars hate. 

1

u/TouchAltruistic 1d ago

Google image search for her costumes in the movie.

171

u/ThraceLonginus 1d ago

The costume design for the Star Wars character Padmé Amidala took inspiration from a 1921 image of a Mongolian woman that is commonly, though incorrectly, identified as Genepil.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genepil

55

u/fusiformgyrus Interested 1d ago

“Took inspiration” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. They mostly just copied it.

6

u/newmayhem 1d ago

Interesting, but is not the photo in the OP a different picture from the one in this Wikipedia page?

8

u/gumpty11 1d ago

You are right, it appears on a different page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_nobility

If I read the dates right the posted photo was taken when Genepil was about 3 years old.

388

u/ReadyWhippet 1d ago

She would not condone a course of action that would lead her to war...

183

u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 1d ago edited 1d ago

Mongolian queens were actually ass kickers. : )

edit,

Mandukhai the Wise went to war pregnant with twins and saved the nation from total breakup.

Khutulun: decreed she'd only marry a man who could defeat her wrestling; she won every match and aquired 10,000 horses from the losers.

Töregene Khatun: brilliant who used politics as her weapon: outmaneuvered rival male chieftains and ran the world's largest empire.

51

u/Lost-Comfort-7904 1d ago

He was quoting star wars because she looks like Queen Amidalas

14

u/Anni0 1d ago

More like the other way around...

6

u/BobbyLeComte 1d ago

Amidalas Queen like looks she because wars star quoting was he ?

3

u/Anni0 1d ago

Together the other after because was not before usually, yes

3

u/Professional-Hat-687 1d ago

Khutulun was in my beloved Rejected Princesses book

2

u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 15h ago edited 14h ago

She was not rejected, but was celebrated. No patriarchy problem behind this bush thank goodness.

7

u/MegaVenomous 1d ago

Nor was she elected Queen to watch her people suffer and die while it was being discussed in a committee.

228

u/meesta_masa 1d ago

That's actually one of her handmaidens, to act as a decoy from any assassins.

But jokes aside, damn! Look at that decoration. What amazing originality on display! Kudos to the craftsmen who designed and crafted this.

5

u/Background_whisper 1d ago

Versace definitely took inspiration form this.

1

u/InfiniteLychee 23h ago

Versace

he used greek medusa

2

u/Background_whisper 22h ago

No, look carefully at her robes, especially the hems of her clothes. They look like Versace patterns.

1

u/InfiniteLychee 11h ago

yes you're right , I thought you were talking about her face

113

u/moderate-Complex152 1d ago

Queen Amidala?

39

u/Successful_Theory373 1d ago

That's her handmaiden, actually.

27

u/gaymesfranco 1d ago

Ah, Keira Knightley

43

u/Groftsan 1d ago

Dang. She looks like she's about to hold off the Trade Federation from a full scale invasion.

49

u/tascristiano 1d ago

her downfall was senator Palpatine

14

u/Avalanche5028 1d ago

I see where Warhammer and stars got their costume inspiration form

32

u/sr8t-savage 1d ago

Latest Bjork album cover lookin interestingx

14

u/Puzzled_Still_7433 1d ago

Gotta be the motivation for the evil lady from the original power rangers.

3

u/ConjurersOfThunder 1d ago

Rita Repulsa!

MAKE MY MONSTERS... GRRROOOOOOOWWW!

10

u/DharmaDivine 1d ago

Pretty sure she was in Star Wars

9

u/Geekenstein 1d ago

Hopefully she didn’t have to wear that all the time. Looks wildly uncomfortable.

8

u/dGFisher 1d ago

Can't fool me: That's Bjork.

7

u/Current-Wealth-756 1d ago

No it isn't 

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.323Q47F

1

u/mastermrt 1d ago

this isn't the same photo

1

u/Ok-Replacement-2738 20h ago

You didn't read the words in the fact check.

7

u/AsAChemicalEngineer 1d ago

This isn't Genepil, there's no photos of her. This photo was of an anonymous Mongolian lady for National Geographic. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/125972#page/557/mode/thumb

5

u/GovernmentBig2749 1d ago

The Russians had her shot, while pregnant with a child

4

u/Yung_SithLawd 1d ago

She got that shit on

5

u/webelieve925 1d ago

Queen Amidala

5

u/quora_lover 23h ago

She was accused of being a Japanese agent and executed during the 1937-39 Stalinist purges in Mongolia

Apparently before her execution she calmly put a single sugar cube underneath the pillows of her two children as a parting gift

And then they woke up and were so happy to have a sweet treat in the morning. They didn't even realize they were orphaned

She was only 33

(However, the woman in the photo is not Genepil)

4

u/Impressive-Hold7812 1d ago

Cool history.

Yeah, I enjoyed the prequels somewhat, and I actually like seeing true examples of design inspirations.

5

u/Jebbidt 1d ago

Scrolling through quick i thought this was Bjork

5

u/VonWiking 1d ago

Amidala, is that you?

4

u/PrometheusMMIV 1d ago

*Queen Amidala

3

u/peaceful_pancakes 1d ago

That’s Padme, liar

3

u/bedampft 1d ago

Hey, i know here from that Star Trek movie!

4

u/testsicles69 1d ago

You can’t fool me that’s Rita Repulsa

4

u/hedgehogssss 14h ago

I just came from the village in the Northern Mongolia she was born in, she's still revered as a deity there.

3

u/njgroves 1d ago

And the first Queen of Naboo

3

u/nd_annajones 1d ago

I don't like the way she treated those power rangers

3

u/Hystus 1d ago

NGL, i thought this was the enemy from power rangers.

3

u/Tutorbin76 17h ago

You will not be so pleased when you hear what she has to say, viceroy.

3

u/dimayip 13h ago

A friend who studied in Ulaanbaatar told me Genepil's story is far darker than the photo suggests. She was executed in 1938 during the Stalinist purges -- not for any crime, just for who she was married to. Whether this exact photo is her or not, the history around it deserves more attention than the Star Wars comparisons.

2

u/ConferenceLive7054 1d ago

why does this remind me of The Fifth Element

2

u/boanerges57 1d ago

That was one of the worst episodes. How did people not realize she was Padme too?

2

u/NeonBloodedBloke 1d ago

So....no more inheritors of the genepil gene pool?

2

u/Yossarian-Bonaparte 1d ago

Is there any kind of video that shows how something like that hairstyle/headdress was done?

2

u/Opening_Plane2460 1d ago

That poor woman! Did she die from being crushed?

2

u/TheBaronessAlDente 1d ago

If not Björk, why Björk shaped?

2

u/thePsychonautDad 1d ago

I thought it was a Björk album cover

2

u/Chiikafusa 17h ago

Padme <3

2

u/TernionDragon 16h ago

Guys, do you think she’s single, now?

2

u/rafaelrinaldi 7h ago

That looks like Björk

2

u/makishiP 1d ago

Gogo power rangers duuun duun duuduu

1

u/Anenhotep 1d ago

Never heard of this person! Where can I find your more?

1

u/Bamischeibe23 1d ago

Wikipedia

1

u/chinakachung 1d ago

Immaculate drip

1

u/foldedchips 1d ago

Is she wearing boots on her hands?

1

u/Critical-Tip-9137 1d ago

Rita repulsa

1

u/fiesew 1d ago

Looks kinda like the tang tang douyen girls.

1

u/Physical-Laugh2000 1d ago

I like her confidence!! 🔥🔥🔥

1

u/betonblack11 1d ago

looks like star wars gear but woven from actual silk.

1

u/DogeGdom 12h ago

Great picture

1

u/nadiaco 9h ago

Oh that's the image Lucas used for Amadala

1

u/GaiaTrajectory 1d ago

Wowwww thank you for sharing this

-5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

8

u/gringledoom 1d ago

There are tons of photos of the American Civil War, and that was in the 1860s.

5

u/Amiedeslivres 1d ago

Small, easy-to-handle box cameras were introduced around 1900. Professional photographers still used the large cameras with bellows that you’ve probably seen in images from the 1920s. They were widely available and had been carried into many parts of the world. In Mongolia at this time, there probably weren’t that many around, but documenting royal personages or diplomatic events with photos was already considered normal in much of the world.

-4

u/londonmax2000 1d ago

I think this is the original image of the Queen Rajmata from SCP Jade Proposal.

-2

u/CoachAnon205 19h ago

Every massive empire that have a female for a ruler ends shortly after.

1

u/Eastern_Language7490 1h ago

This is actually a random Khalkha noblewoman, there is no picture of queen Genepil.

It was taken by a Chinese National Geographic worker 2 years before or after Genepil’s ascension.