Proper right and proper left

The terms are mainly used in discussing images of humans, whether in art history, medical contexts such as x-ray images, or elsewhere, but they can be used in describing any object that has an unambiguous front and back (for example furniture[2]) or,[3] 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 say that "The terms 'proper right' and 'proper left' should be used when describing figures only".

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.

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.

Describing an Indian sculpture:[9]The figure standing on the yakṣī's proper left, however, is not a mirror image of the other male ...