Historical African Cultural Portraits

A collection of historical illustrations featuring African figures, including a medicine man and the Ashanti king, showcasing traditional attire and cultural significance.

Distribution of food to starving people in the Bellary district, in the Madras Presidency (Province), during a famine in India. 1877

The African attendants of David Livingstone (1813-1873) Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa. Livingstone's African attendants Susi, Chuma and Jacob Wainwright, making an inventory of his possessions after his death. Engraving.

A Mrua Medicine Man and his Train, from a sketch by Lieutenant Cameron in Central Africa, 1876. 'The people of Urua, or Kasongo's country, are called Mrua, by a change of prefix to the name signifying the nation instead of the territory...The Mrua "medicine man" or conjuring priest, in the grotesque pomp of his attire, with his instruments of mystification, and with his attendant train of servitors, is a rather amusing figure to meet on the road'. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.

A GROUP OF NAGAS, THE TRIBE BY WHOM LIEUT. HOLCOMBE WAS MURDERED, 1875

The King of the Ashanti people, Asantehene, with his executioners. The second Ashanti War was waged against this King and the British who wanted to secure the coast of West Africa. Date: 26 July 1873

Distribution of food to starving people in the Bellary district, in the Madras Presidency (Province), during a famine in India. 1877

Beer Festival of Waganda Tribe, Africa, Illustration, 1885

Guillaume Lejan arrest by order of Emperor Theodore, Ethiopia. Old XIX century engraved from Journey in Abyssinia Le Tour du Monde 1864

Musgu chief in Barea village, Niger. Africa. Drawing by Adolphe Rouargue (1810-1870) Travels and discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, 1849-1855 by Heinrich Barth (1821-1865) Le Tour du Monde 1860

THE INDIAN SECTION OF THE COLONIAL AND INDIAN EXHIBITION: THE ETHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION, 1886: GROUP OF ANDAMAN ISLANDERS

The Slavery Abolition Act 1833, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed by Earl Grey, which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. Scene on a

NATIVE WOMEN AND NATIVE PORTER

Human sacrifice among the Khonds in India: a victim (meriah) about to be dismembered. Wood engraving by C. Krull after J. Fuchs, 186-.

Engraving depicting native Tongan women dancing before Queen Tine. Dated 19th Century

1827 illustration depicting the King of Benin in a ceremonial march accompanied by musicians.

History. West Africa. Human sacrifices of the Cassange negroes. Guardian. Engraving. (Later colouration). Iconographic Enclyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: Johan George Heck.

An African medicine man or shaman using symbols and small animals to eject a demon (disease). Wood engraving by Dalziel after J. Leech.

History of Africa. 19th century. Interview in front of the Ouangata chief's house. Engraving. El Congo y la Creacion del Estado Independiente de este nombre. Historia de los Trabajos y Exploraciones Verificados (The Congo and the Founding of its Free State. A Story of Work and Exploration), by Henry M. Stanley. Edited in Barcelona, ca.1890. Spain.

Africa, sorcerer from the Marua people, Urua, in today's Kenya, in 1880, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

'Slave gang crossing the African desert', c1880. Artist: Unknown

David Livingstone house in Ujiji, Tanzania, Central Africa. Journey to unexplored Africa, the mysterious continent by Henry Morton Stanley. Old 19th century engraved illustration, El Mundo Ilustrado 1880

A village in Equatorial Africa. Engraving. Africa inexplorada, el Continente Misterioso by Henry Morton Stanley, c. 1887.

ZULU KAFFIRS OF NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA, 1865

Indian wigwam and medicine dance, America, Indians, 1850, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Historia de Africa. Siglo XIX. Ruga-Ruga (mercenario) o"patriota"de Mirambo, indígena Uatuta e indígena Deluhha. Ruga-Ruga eran tropas irregulares en Africa Oriental, bajo mando de las fuerzas coloniales occidentales, empleadas normalmente como mercenarios o fuerzas auxiliares de las tropas locales, denominadas Askari. La Ruga-Ruga estaba integrada en su mayoría por guerreros tribales. Cromolitografía. El Congo y la Creación del Estado Independiente de este nombre. Historia de los Trabajos y Exploraciones Verificados, por Enrique M. Stanley. Editada en Barcelona, hacia 1890. España.

Historic drawing, 19th century, a Brazilian sedan chair with Indian sedan bearers, colonial era, 17th century

The Dutch are captured, murdered and eaten by Indians in Brazil, Canibalism, 1646, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original

Group of Nubians, Wady Kardasey sic Qirtsî. Group of Nubians at Wady Kardassy.. Roberts, David, 1796-1864. Brockedon, William, 1787-1854. Prints, Illustrations. 1846 - 1849. General Research Division. Egypt, Antiquities, Daggers & swords, Nubians, Clothing & dress , Nubia

The annual water festival, known in Burmese as 'thingyan,' marks the beginning of the rainy season and is celebrated in Burma, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, usually in April. In this scene of revelry, participants gather water from the Pegu River and pour or throw it over each other.

The indigenous people of Brazil, relaxing on hammocks with fresh fruit and fish to hand, as first encountered by Vespucci and his men. Date: circa 1502

Dr. Harmand proceeds to an anthropological measurement on the indigenous Akha, Attapeu province. Laos. Southeast Asia. Laos and the wild populations of Indo-China by Doctor Harmand 1877

Natives of Tierra del Fuego, showing their clothing and shelter. From Captain Cook's 'Original Voyages Round the World'. Magellan encountered these natives on his first voyage of circumnavigation. (1519-22). Tierra del Fuego 'Land of Fire'

'Group of Kanaks; Some Account of New Caledonia', 1875. From 'Illustrated Travels' by H.W. Bates. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, c1880, London and Galpin.

United State. Native Amercian. Village. Engraving. (Later colouration). Iconographic Enclyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: Johan George Heck.

Wedding ceremony among the natives of Ndor (Saint-Louis), Senegal. Griot leading the veiled bride while guests dance in the background. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Antonio Sasso from Giulio Ferrario's Ancient and Modern Costumes of all the Peoples of the World, Florence, Italy, 1843.

The execution of slaves by beheading by the Bakuti, near the Equator Station, The head of the victim is attached to a branch of a tree with a rope, which catapults the severed head into the air after beheading with the axe, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original.

James Cook (1728-79) English navigator, witnessing human sacrifice in Taihiti (Otaheite) c1773 during his second Pacific voyage 1772-1775. Engraving

Tanzania, Zanzibar, Africa, 1873

The body of a Maori chief is seated beneath an image of the tribal god, while victims are sacrificed and one of his wives mutilates - or even kills - herself Date: circa 1840

Rai or stone money, round stone slabs carved from limestone, used as currency on several of the Micronesian islands, Micronesia, Historical, digitally...

Raja Chette sings a tribute to Warren Hastings. the first Governor-General of India from 1773 to 1785. digital reproduction of a historical original

Slaves crossing a forest of the dead, slave hunters in the Congo in 1868, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th century artwork, exact original date not known

Indians in Council (from "The American Aboriginal Portfolio" by Mary Eastman, 1853) Seth Eastman (1808-1878 American) Illustration Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Engraving depicting Khoikhoi man and woman in traditional dress. The Khoikhoi are a group of Khosian people native to south-western Africa. The Dutch settlers labelled them Hottentot, in imitation of the click sounds that are characteristic of the Khoekhoe language. Dated 19th Century

William Penn (1644-1718) English Quaker colonist, treating with Native Americans on site of present day Philadelphia 1830 Woodcut

THE INDIAN SECTION OF THE COLONIAL AND INDIAN EXHIBITION: GROUP OF BURMANS, 1886

The First Italo-Ethiopian War (1895-1896). Italians in Abyssinia. Major Tommaso Salsa and Captain Annibale Anghera before the emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II (1844-1913) in Menelik's camp with a peace proposal requesting a renewed acceptance of the Wuchale Treaty Cessation but it was rejected. Engraving by Hector Ximenes in "La Ilustracion Artistica", 1896. Colored.

1500s 1600s ENGRAVING DEPICTING EARLY NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN LIFE MEN PADDLING DUGOUT CANOE ON RIVER BY VILLAGE IN FLORIDA

The drinking of Poitou.. Ogilby, John (1600-1676). Illustrations, Prints. 1670. General Research Division. South Africa, Islands of the Indian Ocean, Islands of the Atlantic, Africa , Description and travel, Manners & customs , Africa

LIFE IN SOUTHERN INDIA

Africa - 19th century - The Ashanti Wars (1895-1900)

Two African dances Latooka funeral dance Obbo war dance. Prints. 1866. Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Dance , Africa , 19th century, Lotuko (African people) , Funeral customs and rites

Black slaves were imported into the Muslim world from Africa by a number of routes northward across the Sahara desert, and by sea into Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Estimates of the number involved vary greatly but it seems that there may easily have been 10 million, perhaps even twice that number. Two-thirds of African slaves were female. The males were considered to be troublesome. An uprising of slaves from West Africa, the Zanj, who had been imported into the Tigris-Euphrates delta to reclaim salt marshland through their backbreaking labour, lasted from 869 until 883. The mortality rate was very high because of the harsh conditions, but the trade was so lucrative that merchants were not deterred by the numbers who died. Harrowing eye witness accounts tell of the vast scale and miserable conditions of the slave trade in Africa. In the 1570s many thousands of black Africans were seen for sale in Cairo on market days. In 1796 a caravan was seen by a British traveller leaving Darfur wit

Illustration depicting a blow gun being used by an Amazonian Indian. Dated 19th century

The tall Tehuelche people of Patagonia exchanging gifts with short European colonist. The Native Americans wear feather headdresses and fur cloaks. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Verico from Giulio Ferrrario's Costumes Antique and Modern of All Peoples (Il Costume Antico e Moderno di Tutti i Popoli), Florence, 1842.

Famine sufferers drown themselves in river Jamna aka Yamuna India Copyright: xKenxGraham/DinodiaxPhotox

c.1825 Hawaii, Oahu, Waimea, view of Reverend Hiram Bingham preaching outdoors, black and white

Aymara and Quechua Indians of the Bolivian city of La Paz, Bolivia, South America. Journey in search of the remains of the Crevaux mission by Émile-Arthur Thouar 1884. Old 19th century engraving from Le Tour du Monde 1906

Ashanti priests ritually invoke their deities Date: 1873

Funeral among the Khoikhoi people of South Africa. The corpse is carried from a hut and buried in between great stones to protect it from wild animals. Handcolored copperplate engraving from G. T. Wilhelm's "Encyclopedia of Natural History: Mankind," Augsburg, 1804. Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelm (1758-1811) was a Bavarian clergyman and naturalist known as the German Buffon.

Ojibway Indians, wearing wraps and feathers in their hair, with thatch triangular huts in the background and what looks like a washing line. The Canadian government funded several expeditions to chart the Red River area in the late 1850's. Date: 1858

Tätowierung eines Häuptling in Neuseeland, digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert

Meeting between Africans and Europeans, Vincent Laurensz. van der Vinne (II), 1758 print Europeans are approached by residents of an African country where they have arrived with their ship, which is visible in the background. Haarlem paper etching / engraving Africans. beach

Engraving depicting Australian aborigines in their encampment. Dated 19th Century

TE KOOTI, the Maori chief and leader of insurgents in New Zealand, 1870

The Mayor of Buenos Aires, Cauca valley Department . Colombia, South America. Journey through Equinoctial America 1875-1876 by Edward Francois Andre. Le Tour du Monde 1879

Mexico. 16th century. Evangelization. Augustinian missionary Antonio de Roa, evangelizing natives of Malango mountains. Engraving, 1850. Color.

Indian sapuriya or snake charmers performing to music from a tobrie or pipe musician. Handcoloured copperplate drawn and engraved by Andrea Bernieri after Francois Solvyns from Giulio Ferrario's Ancient and Modern Costumes of all the Peoples of the World, Florence, Italy, 1844.

Goldsmiths at work in India; early 19th Century. ;French; lithograph; By Marlet 1828

Kashmiri boatmen rows boats in the waters of Dal-Lake in Srinagar Summer Capital Of Indian Kashmir, India. Trip to Punjab and Kashmir by Guillaume Lejean. Old engraving El Mundo en la Mano 1878

Catafalque of a Dayak chief, Kalimantan. Borneo Island, Indonesia. From Koutei to Banjarmasin, a journey through Borneo by Carl Bock (1849 - 1932)

Women Mannganya and Matchinga from African tribe in Zanzibar. The Last Journals of David Livingstone Scottish missionary and explorer, 1866-1873. Old

Hugh Clapperton (Annan 1788-near Sokoto, Nigeria 1827). British traveler. Was part of expedition to interior of Africa led by Dr. Oudney. Along with Denham found kingdom of Bornu. Entered walled city of Kano. Died of dysentery in Sokoto. Mtagata thermal waters. Engraving by C. Laplante. Colored.

Canary Islanders leave embalmed corpses in the caverns of the Guanches. Date: 1846

Group of the Khoi with Dancers and Musicians, by Robert Jacob Gordon, 1777-86, Scottish drawing, watercolor, ink, on paper. Now called Khoekhoe, they were natives of southwestern Africa, who practiced pastoral agriculture, maintaining herds of Nguni cattl (BSLOC_2016_6_313)

Central Africa. Manyema community, of the Bantu ethnic group. They live from the present Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Engraving by Charles Barbant (1844-1922). Africa inexplorada, el Continente Misterioso by Henry Morton Stanley, c. 1887.

Christopher COLUMBUS, 1451-1506, Italian (Genoese), meeting the indigenous people of the New World, watercolour, 17th century, by Bonatti

Human sacrifices in Dahomey, Central Africa, Old 19th century engraved illustration, Le Tour du Monde 1863

Bongo men playing musical instruments, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa. Heart of Africa Three years travels and adventures in the unexplored regions of Central Africa by Georg August Schweinfurth, 1868-1871

Procession, with three groups of three men, each holding a gun 16th century Anonymous, German, 16th century. Procession, with three groups of three men, each holding a gun. Anonymous, German, 16th century. 16th century. Etching

HISTORIA DE LA EXPLORACION DE AFRICA. Entrada de un pueblo, visto al paso por Stanley (1841-1904). El Mundo Ilustrado, 1882. Grabado por Cauchard.

David Livingstone (1813-1873) Scottish missionary and African explorer being carried 'The Last Mile' to die at his African home in Ujiji, Tanganyika., From The Life and Explorations of David Livingstone, Chromolithograph, c1880

HALT OF BRAZILIAN SLAVES

Four men carrying a dead man on a wooden stretcher for his cremation, watched by grieving women. Gouache painting by an Indian painter.

A Dance in Tahiti on engraving from 1793. Engraved by Heath after a picture by Webber and published in The Geographical Magazine.

" A Dance in Otaheite ". Tahiti dancers, women and men, with musiciens in background on ceremonial dance for Cook. From Watercolours illustrating Captain Cook's last voyage ca. 1773-1784 by John Webber. Webber was appointed topographical artist and sailed with Cook on the third voyage

Javanese pantomime called 'Toping'. Color drawing of three Javanian dancers, sitting musicians and spectators in an open building of bamboo with atap. To Batavia. With inscription. Part from Jan Brandes, DL sketchbook. 2 (1808), p. 99.

Village, Kral of the Kaffirs, South African people of the Xhosa, Bantu, South Africa in 1870, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

'Uncle Tom's Cabin' by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Slaves cheeering steamer taking bales of cotton down the Mississippi.

''The Coronation of an African Chief at Ballom in South Africa', 1890. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 42. July to December, 1890.

Australian Aboriginal performing a ritualistic dance in 1850´s. Victoria, Australian states of Victoria, Australia. Souvenir of a French squatter in Australia by H. de Castella 1854-1856

Africa. Libya. Arab Nomads, C. 1900. Engraving. Later colouration.

Worshippers come out of the church in Villa Rica in 1880, Colombia, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact date unknown, So...

A young Inca man kicking a balance in which the Spanish conquistadors are weighing gold. Etching by A.C.F. Villerey after N. Vallain.

The Aborigines Of Guyana, Caribi Village, near the River Rupunumi. Views in the interior of Guyana : from drawings executed by Mr. Charles Bentley, 1830s

A royal sage tells the father of the fishergirl of their marriage. Chromolithograph by R. Varma, 1907.

The Dayak are an indigenous people to Borneo, most renowned for their tradition of head-hunting. The Dayak ethnicity covers more than 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture. Dayak languages are categorised as part of the Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity, and some to Islam more recently. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.

Australian Indians in front of their tents, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Meskwaki braves performing the Begging Dance. Handcoloured lithograph from George Catlin's Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians, London, 1841.

Old Germanic burial, historical wood engraving, ca. 1880, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date not known, c...

History of the United States of America. Native American council and conquistadors meeting around a fire. Engraving by Vernier. Panorama Universal. History of the United States of America, from 1st edition of Jean B.G. Roux de Rochelle's Etats-Unis d'Amérique in 1837. Spanish edition, printed in Barcelona, 1850. Later colouration.

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