Proper right and proper left are conceptual terms used to unambiguously convey

relative direction In geometry, direction, also known as spatial direction or vector direction, is the common characteristic of all ray (geometry), rays which coincide when translation (geometry), translated to share a common endpoint; equivalently, it is the commo ...

when describing an image or other object. The "proper right" hand of a figure is the hand that would be regarded by that figure as its right hand. In a frontal representation, that appears on the left as the viewer sees it, creating the potential for ambiguity if the hand is just described as the "right hand". The terms are mainly used in discussing images of humans, whether in

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, medical contexts such as

x-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

images, or elsewhere, but they can be used in describing any object that has an unambiguous front and back (for example

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

) or, when describing things that move or change position, with reference to the original position. However a more restricted use may be preferred, and the internal instructions for cataloguing objects in the "Inventory of American Sculpture" at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

say that "The terms 'proper right' and 'proper left' should be used when describing figures only". In

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, right and left is always used in the meaning of proper right and proper left, as for the imaginary bearer of a coat of arms; to avoid confusion, the Latin terms dexter and sinister are often used. The alternative is to use language that makes it clear that the viewer's perspective is being used. The swords in the illustrations might be described as: "to the left as the viewer sees it", "at the view's left", "at the viewer's left", and so on. However these formulations do not work for freestanding sculpture in the round, where the viewer might be at any position around the sculpture. A British 19th-century manual for military drill contrasts "proper left" with "present left" when discussing the orientation of formations performing intricate movements on a parade ground, "proper" meaning the orientation at the start of the drill. The terms are analogous to the nautical

port and starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

, where "port" is to a watercraft as "proper left" is to a sculpture, and they are used for essentially the same reason. Their use obviates the need for potentially ambiguous language such as "my right", "your left", and so on, by expressing the direction in a manner that holds true regardless of the relative orientations of the object and observer. Another example is stage right and left in the theatre, which uses the actor's orientation, "stage right" equating to the audience's "house left".

Examples of usage

This is from the auction catalogue description of an African wood figure:

There is extensive insect loss in the proper right leg, some at the proper right elbow, and at the fronts of both feet. There is a chip off the proper right breast, and the proper right leg was broken off and reglued.

Describing an Indian sculpture:Owen, Lisa, ''Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora'', p. 90, 2012, BRILL, , 9789004206298
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The figure standing on the yakṣī's proper left, however, is not a mirror image of the other male ...

Notes

{{reflist Art history Orientation (geometry) Handedness Visual arts terminology