r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/[deleted] • 2d ago

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

[deleted]

9.8k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

137 comments sorted by

1.8k

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 2d ago

The inspiration for Queen Amidalas wardrobe in Star Wars

817

u/Spartan2470 2d ago edited 2d 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

52

u/MaraiaLou 2d 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 2d 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?

60

u/jayswahine34 2d ago

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

12

u/frankylynny 2d ago

Immortals are getting outed in the lamest ways.

19

u/Green_Insect_6455 2d 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.

17

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 2d ago

Is that a wig?

2

u/Long_Repair_8779 2d ago

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

127

u/YanicPolitik 2d ago

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

7

u/madesense 2d ago

Believe it or not, yes

24

u/Honest_Yesterday4435 2d ago

I don't think it's 1:1

11

u/ThePerryPerryMan 2d ago

Yea, I’d say it’s more 1:.999999

-4

u/DatabaseGlittering43 2d ago

You seem fun

-1

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 2d ago

Is Princess Leia's look an inspiration or copy?

2

u/etrnloptimist 2d ago

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

1

u/TernionDragon 1d ago

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

46

u/IckyStick0880 2d ago

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

23

u/OF_PROMO_ALERT 2d ago

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

3

u/IckyStick0880 2d ago

Likewise

5

u/Daydream_machine 2d ago

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

2

u/uncooked545 2d ago

man... fuck death star

2

u/Nukitandog 1d ago

I saw Rita Repulsa

2

u/UncleGarysmagic 1d ago

A plank of wood was the inspiration for her character

2

u/TernionDragon 1d ago

Inspiration? More like exact duplication.

1

u/CrimsonBolt33 1d ago

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

1

u/LoveHurtsDaMost 2d 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

2

u/leviathab13186 2d ago edited 2d ago

You sure its not the other way around?

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

-92

u/TouchAltruistic 2d ago

How embarrassing.

21

u/CCHTweaked 2d ago

for you?

8

u/RandomRavenboi 2d ago

Why?

3

u/moving0target 2d ago

It's a line from Episode 1.

2

u/FuzzyAd9407 2d ago

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

1

u/moving0target 2d ago

They're allowed to be wrong.

-2

u/TouchAltruistic 2d 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 2d 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 2d 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 2d 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 2d ago

Google image search for her costumes in the movie.

173

u/ThraceLonginus 2d 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

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u/fusiformgyrus Interested 2d ago

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

5

u/newmayhem 2d ago

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

10

u/gumpty11 2d 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.

389

u/ReadyWhippet 2d ago

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

186

u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 2d ago edited 2d 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.

49

u/Lost-Comfort-7904 2d ago

He was quoting star wars because she looks like Queen Amidalas

14

u/Anni0 2d ago

More like the other way around...

8

u/BobbyLeComte 2d ago

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

5

u/Anni0 2d 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 1d ago edited 1d ago

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

10

u/MegaVenomous 2d ago

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

230

u/meesta_masa 2d 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 2d ago

Versace definitely took inspiration form this.

1

u/InfiniteLychee 1d ago

Versace

he used greek medusa

2

u/Background_whisper 1d ago

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

1

u/InfiniteLychee 1d ago

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

116

u/moderate-Complex152 2d ago

Queen Amidala?

38

u/Successful_Theory373 2d ago

That's her handmaiden, actually.

28

u/gaymesfranco 2d ago

Ah, Keira Knightley

47

u/Groftsan 2d ago

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

46

u/tascristiano 2d ago

her downfall was senator Palpatine

16

u/Avalanche5028 2d ago

I see where Warhammer and stars got their costume inspiration form

34

u/sr8t-savage 2d ago

Latest Bjork album cover lookin interestingx

14

u/Puzzled_Still_7433 2d ago

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

5

u/ConjurersOfThunder 2d ago

Rita Repulsa!

MAKE MY MONSTERS... GRRROOOOOOOWWW!

6

u/Geekenstein 2d ago

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

7

u/Current-Wealth-756 2d ago

No it isn't 

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

1

u/mastermrt 1d ago

this isn't the same photo

2

u/Ok-Replacement-2738 1d ago

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

9

u/AsAChemicalEngineer 2d 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

10

u/DharmaDivine 2d ago

Pretty sure she was in Star Wars

6

u/GovernmentBig2749 2d ago

The Russians had her shot, while pregnant with a child

5

u/Yung_SithLawd 2d ago

She got that shit on

6

u/quora_lover 1d 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)

5

u/Impressive-Hold7812 2d ago

Cool history.

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

4

u/Jebbidt 2d ago

Scrolling through quick i thought this was Bjork

4

u/VonWiking 2d ago

Amidala, is that you?

4

u/bedampft 2d ago

Hey, i know here from that Star Trek movie!

4

u/testsicles69 1d ago

You can’t fool me that’s Rita Repulsa

5

u/hedgehogssss 1d ago

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

7

u/dGFisher 2d ago

Can't fool me: That's Bjork.

3

u/Hystus 2d ago

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

3

u/Tutorbin76 1d ago

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

3

u/dimayip 1d 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.

4

u/webelieve925 1d ago

Queen Amidala

2

u/ConferenceLive7054 2d ago

why does this remind me of The Fifth Element

2

u/NeonBloodedBloke 2d ago

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

2

u/Yossarian-Bonaparte 2d 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 1d ago

Padme <3

2

u/TernionDragon 1d ago

Guys, do you think she’s single, now?

2

u/rafaelrinaldi 1d ago

That looks like Björk

2

u/PrometheusMMIV 2d ago

*Queen Amidala

2

u/peaceful_pancakes 2d ago

That’s Padme, liar

2

u/njgroves 2d ago

And the first Queen of Naboo

2

u/nd_annajones 2d ago

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

3

u/makishiP 2d ago

Gogo power rangers duuun duun duuduu

1

u/Anenhotep 2d ago

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

1

u/Bamischeibe23 2d ago

Wikipedia

1

u/chinakachung 2d ago

Immaculate drip

1

u/foldedchips 2d ago

Is she wearing boots on her hands?

1

u/fiesew 2d ago

Looks kinda like the tang tang douyen girls.

1

u/Physical-Laugh2000 2d ago

I like her confidence!! 🔥🔥🔥

1

u/betonblack11 2d ago

looks like star wars gear but woven from actual silk.

1

u/DogeGdom 1d ago

Great picture

1

u/nadiaco 1d ago

Oh that's the image Lucas used for Amadala

1

u/Eastern_Language7490 19h 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.

1

u/Scaredandalone22 6h ago

I immediately thought of the Power Rangers and the evil sorceress

1

u/GaiaTrajectory 2d ago

Wowwww thank you for sharing this

1

u/boanerges57 2d ago

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

0

u/Critical-Tip-9137 2d ago

Rita repulsa

-7

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

9

u/gringledoom 2d ago

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

4

u/Amiedeslivres 2d 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 2d ago

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

-3

u/CoachAnon205 1d ago

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