← Religion & Culture

Historical Depictions of African Cultures

Engravings depicting traditional African life and ceremonies, illustrating cultural practices and historical contexts in 19th-century Africa.

Village of a tribe in Central Africa. Journey across Africa, from Zanzibar to Benguela by Verney Lovett Cameron
Village of a tribe in Central Africa. Journey across Africa, from Zanzibar to Benguela by Verney Lovett Cameron
190 assets in this story
History. Mesopotamia. Assyria. Assyrians. Engraving. Engraving. (Later colouration). Iconographic Enclyclopaedia of science, Literature and Art. 19th century. Author: Johan George Heck.Native American scalp dance, 1874, engraving. Native American Civilization, United States, 19th century.Mexico, 19th century. Indians from the Sierra de Guachinango near Pantla.Costumes of the Mandingo or Mandinka people, west Africa. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Antonio Sasso from Giulio Ferrario's Ancient and Modern Costumes of all the Peoples of the World, Florence, Italy, 1843.DANZA EN DAHOMEY CON HECHICERO - ACTUAL BENIN. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. France.The captains Speke and Grant at the hearing by the Queen Mother, Africa. Old XIX century engraved from Le Tour du Monde 1864Native American Indians dancing a tribal dance for an important occasion, wearing body paint, feathers on thier heads and around their waist.The Moors at Siguiri, Guinea. Africa. Two campaigns in French Sudan, 1886-1888 by Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849 - 1916) Le Tour du Monde 1890BLOWPIPE used by Biajos or mountaineers of Borneo Date: 18th centuryMan Ascending a Palm Tree for Its Wine, AfricaEthnic groups of Oceania, indigenous Australians, historical illustration, 19th centuryStanley meets with Livingstone at Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika November 19, 1871. After an illustration in the Illustrated London News, August 10, 1872.South America, Peru. Antis colony in the Amazon. Catholic missionaries grouped families of natives from the Anti tribe to evangelize and teach them. It was established on the banks of the Amazon River. Engraving by Laporta. La Ilustracion Espaola y Americana, July 15, 1876.Chanar', 1828. Nadar also Kshatriya Naadar, Natar, Sanar and Chanar is one of the Tamil castes found primarily in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in the Tamil diaspora, particularly those living in Sri Lanka. A print from L'Inde Francaise, 1828. By the French artist Jean Henri Marlet.A fakir of Northern India invokes his gods to bring rain Date: 1891Robert Moffat (1795-1883) Scottish missionary threated by a tribal Chiefn Bechuanaland . Father-in-law of David Livingstone.'Bassoutos', South Africa, 19th century. Artist: St de DreeJavanese dance is the dances and art forms that were created and influenced by Javanese culture. Javanese dance is usually associated with the courtly, refined and sophisticated culture of the Javanese kratons, such as the Bedhaya and Srimpi dance. However, in a wider sense, Javanese dance also includes the dances of Javanese commoners and villagers such as Ronggeng, Tayub, Reog, and Kuda Lumping. Javanese dance is usually associated with Wayang wong, and the palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta due to the nature of dance being a pusaka or sacred heirloom from ancestors of the palace rulers. These expressive dances are more than just dances, they are also used for moral education, emotional expression, and spreading of the Javanese culture.Colonial Life in Madagascar, 1904Tattoo of a chief in New Zealand, digitally restored reproduction of an original from the 19th centurySudamérica. Danza de los indios puris del Brasil. Grabado de 1888.Indians deciding the fate of the prisoner. Engraving by Felix O.C. Darley in 1860. The Illustrated London News. Colored.The Indian came forward and said: My brother is a great leader, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, (1880-81).Moulibahan, the chief of the tribe, vintage engraved illustration. Jules Verne 3 Russian and 3 English, 1872.Bamboo Raft, Irrawaddy River, Rangoon, Burma, "Classical Portfolio of Primitive Carriers", by Marshall M. Kirman, World Railway Publ. Co., Illustration, 1895New Zealand. Funeral. Engraving.Manyema community, of the Bantu ethnic group. They live from the present Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Central Africa. Journey to unexplored Africa, the mysterious continent by Henry Morton Stanley. Old 19th century engraved illustration, El Mundo Ilustrado 1880DEBRET, Jean Baptiste (1768-1848). A Colourful and Historic Journey to Brazil. 1839. 'NŽgres cangueiros'. Black urban slaves transporting a wine barrel. Costumbrism. Litography.Porcession. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Abyssinian (today Ethiopia), 1880. Engraving. Later colouration.South American Indians. 16th-18th century. Yanomamo Indians. Inhabitants of the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. Cultivation of cassava and fruit trees. Italian Engraving 1780. Colored.Mr. S. W. Baker's explorations in Central Africa: Commoro, chief of the Latooka Tribe, 1865. 'The people inhabiting the Latooka country are the most powerful tribe Mr. Baker has found in Africa; and their Monarch is the illustrious warrior, Commoro, whose likeness is here delineated by Mr. Baker's pencil. Their country, situated in latitude about 4 deg. 24 min. north, is a very fine one, producing ample supplies of grain and supporting large herds. The towns are large and thickly populated, and the inhabitants are a warlike but friendly race, who go naked, and whose chief distinction is theirRest at Bahr-el-Ghazal, June 1897. Scene during a trade mission in Africa in the period of European colonisation. A European and his African porters break their journey. This could have been at the River Bahr-el-Ghazal in what is now Sudan, or the Bahr-el-Ghazal ravine in modern Sudan. At that time large parts of Africa were under French rule. Card produced by the Monastery of Aiguebelle. THE FAMINE IN INDIAIndian Conibos, vintage engraving. Indian Conibos, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1852. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10673583The meeting of Odawa war chief, Pontiac (Obwandiyag), and his embassy with Major Rogers and his troops. Rogers claimed to have met with the war chief in 1760. At that council, Rogers later claimed, some Chippewa chiefs signed a 'treaty', ceding the English a tract of land near Detroit (BSLOC_2019_3_40)Old Germanic burial, historical wood engraving, ca. 1880, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date not known, coloured'Danse de Negres ˆ Saint Domingue'. Black people dance in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Engraving of the 'Encyclopedie des voyages' (1792-1796) by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur. Litography. FRANCE. ëLE-DE-FRANCE. Paris. National Library.South American Indians. 16th-18th century. Yanomamo Indians. Inhabitants of the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. Cultivation of cassava and fruit trees. Italian Engraving 1780. Colored.Colonial Indian images our Nawab India Copyright: xJehangirxSorabjee/DinodiaxPhotoxAsia. Indian. Snake charmers. Colored engraving. 19th century.'Cook Told The Maoris That He Had Come To Set A Mark Upon Their Islands', c1908, (c1920). Artist: Joseph Ratcliffe Skelton.Oceania. Tattooing. Engraving.Slaves waiting to be auctioned in Virginia 1856.Traditional Arab costumes worn by a Moroccan family, 1862. French illustrationIndian traditional costumes and vehicles, hand-coloured copperplate engraving from Friedrich Justin Bertuch picture book for children, 1807, Weimar, Germany, EuropeIvory trade in South Africa, locals carry elephant tusks to a buying place, 1869, South Africa, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th century artwork, exact original date unknown, AfricaWomen of Senegambia washing themselves with water from a basin, 18th century.. One carries a baby on her back. Negro women washing themselves. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Frederic Shoberls The World in Miniature: Africa, A description of the manners and customs Moors of the Sahara and of the Negro Nations, R. Ackermann, England, 1821.A halwai (sweet maker) weighing some mithai (sweets). Watercolour by an Indian artist.Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809). American explorer. The Grand Council of the Ravens at Fort Laramie in presence of Lewis. Engraving by Guachard in 1881. Colored.Indian doctor taking the pulse of a patient. Gouache drawing.Jeunes indigènes Nelle Calédonie , Indigenous peoples, Dance, Kanak New Caledonian people, Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United StatesLe chef Palou. recevant les officiers de l' etat-mayor de l' Astrolabe. (Tonga Tabou.). Dumont d'Urville, Jules-Sébastien-César, 1790-1842. Prints. 1830 - 1835. General Research DivisionIndians of Virginia dancing. Coloured aquatint by G. Gallina, ca. 1820.After the rains the Ganges in flood rescuing the inhabitants of a submerged village India Copyright: xJehangirxSorabjee/DinodiaxPhotoxKing Behanzin (d1906) of Dahomeys (now Republic of Benin) mission to Paris. From Le Petit Journal, Paris, 2 December 1893. France, French, Colonialism, AfricaPicture series from East Africa, a Shauri, consultation, digitally restored reproduction of a collective picture from ca 1900, in the public domain, e...C 1850, Hawaiian Hula Dancers performing in costume and instruments A man and woman of Tunis, Tunisia - Algiers, Algeria or Tripoli, Libya. A book of national types and costumes from the early 19th century. Date: 1818Bongo 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, 1868-1871Traditional Men's DanceEngraving depicting Tippu Tip's camp at Stanley Falls, Congo, showing an accumulation of Ivory waiting to be exported.Arenenos, subtribe of the Papagos. In: 'United States and Mexican Boundary Survey. Report of William H. Emory ' Washington. 1857. Tohono Oíodham (Papagos) Native Americans from the Sonoran Desert of eastern Arizona and northwestern Mexico.Eingang eines Palast-Tempels ; Darbringung des Tributs der Aethiopier vor dem Könige Entrance to a palace-temple ; Ethiopians presenting tribute to the king Knilling, Nikolaus, b. 1825. still image. Bilderbogen. 1852 - 1898. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection. Obelisks , Egypt, Temples , Egypt, Gifts, Giraffes, Hides & skins, Nubians, Tusks, kings , Egypt , To 499, Crowns , To 499, Pylons (Gateways)Aubin codex: Hernan Cortes receiving offerings from caciques. 16th century. Madrid, National Library. Author: DIEGO DURAN DIEGO (1537-1588). Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.A depiction of a vendor selling Ruda herb, alongside an open coffin displaying the Knight of Christ. The artwork by Jean Baptiste Debret, created between 1834 and 1839, reflects social life and customs in Brazil, particularly focusing on funeral rites, ceremonies, and the practices surrounding knighthood. The image also highlights the interactions between vendors and purchasers in this contextOrnamental tattoos: African woman 1, Maori chief (New Zealand) 2, Maori king 3, Caroline Islander 4, hand 5 and foot 6 of a Dayak (Borneo), and a Japanese man with irezumi and fundoshi 7. Chromolithograph from Joseph Meyer's encyclopedia, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 1885.Afrikaanse muziekinstrumenten.Leaf with four representations of African musical instruments and the method of playing. Above: a string instrument and a woman from the Khoi who plays the instrument. Below: a drum and a khoi that plays the instrument. Under the performances a caption in French.Spinning Cotton, AfricaIndian, Indian wigwam in Lower Canada, c. 1848, Canada, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original. Book of the Moghul. Ms. 8300. 17th c. Hindu funeral. Funeral ceremony of a husband's death, in which the wife throws herself to a fire. Hindu art. Miniature Painting. ITALY. VENETO. Venice. Biblioteca nazionale marciana (St. Mark's Library).Ethnic groups of Asia: 1 Yukaghir, 2 Ostjakin, 3 Mongol, 4 Rajput, 5 Kyrgyz, 6 Tungus, 7 Yakutian, 8 Tibetan, 9 Chinese woman, 10 Chinese man, 11 Sinhalese, 12 Kashmiri, 13 Persian, 14 Malay woman, 15 Malay man, 16 Toda, 17 Andamanese man, 18 Andamanese woman, 19 Vedda, 20 Negrito, 21 Japanese man, 22 Japanese woman, 23 Man from Liu Qiu, 24 Korean, 25 Ainu, historical illustration, wood engraving, about 1888Kleidung, Mode in Mittelamerika, um 1520, von links, Priester des Regengottes Tlaloc, dann ein Opferpriester, einer vom Stamm der Mixteken, der König,...Native village in LiberiaHow Navajo rugs are made , Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United StatesAct of submission of Ashanti king Prempeh and his mother embracing the legs of British representatives, Governor Maxwell, Colonel Kempster and Sir Francis Scott, as a sign of humiliation. Engraving, 1901. Colored.Indian Circus Entertainers - Gustav Hagenbeck Date: circa 1910sIndias de San Blas - Rep. de Panama - Indians of San Blas - Rep. of Panama , Indigenous peoples, Children, Cuna Indians, Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United StatesAfrica. Sierra Leone. Bride of the High Society. Colored engraving 1880.Colombia. Spanish Mission. Augustinian Recollect friar converting Guahibos Indians. Engraving, 1887. Colored.Sarawak: a native Kalabit smithy. Photograph.Thugs' (literally 'thags', or practitioners of 'thaggi') deceived and strangled travelers: paintiing by an Indian artist, for Captain James Paton, Assistant to the Resident at Lucknow, 1829-1840. Thuggee (from Hindi hag ‘thief’, verb, thugna, to deceive, from Sanskrit sthaga ‘cunning’, ‘sly’, ‘fraudulent’, ‘dishonest’, ‘scoundrel’’) is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in South Asia and particularly in India. Thuggee trace their origin to the battle of Kali against Raktabija; however, their foundation myth departs from Brahminical versions of the Puranas. Thuggee consider themselves to be children of Kali, created out of her sweat. This is similar to the way Kali was created from aggression and willingness to fight Durga. According to some sources, especially old colonial sources, Thuggee believe they have a positive role, saving humans' lives. Without Thuggee's sacred service, Kali might destroy all human kind.Free West Indian Dominicans. Date/Period: Ca. 1770. Painting. Oil on canvas. Height: 318 mm (12.51 in); Width: 248 mm (9.76 in). Author: AGOSTINO BRUNIAS.Colonial Indian images our doctor s wife India Copyright: xJehangirxSorabjee/DinodiaxPhotoxMARTêNEZ COMPAîN Y BUJANDA, Baltasar Jaime (1735-1797). Trujillo del Perœ en el siglo XVIII. 1782 - 1785. Vol. II. Illustration 58. 'Indian people cooking chicha'. Couple of Indians cooking. SPAIN. MADRID (AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY). Madrid. Palacio Real Library.Christian Missionaries or European Explorers Preach Against Idolatry in French Colonial Africa 1902 Book Cover of a Short Story 'Le Serment de l'Explorateur' by L.G.Dinger.Picture series from East Africa, maize harvest of the Wanyamwesi, digitally restored reproduction of a collective picture from ca 1900, in the public ...Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is located in the royal palace complex and houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Muslims at prayer in a mosque, Senegal, 18th century. The Talbes were Moorish clerics and the Marabouts were Black Muslim clerics. Temple of the Talbes or Marabouts. After Rene Claude Geoffroy de Villeneuves LAfrique, Paris, 1814. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Frederic Shoberls The World in Miniature: Africa, A description of the manners and customs Moors of the Sahara and of the Negro Nations, R. Ackermann, England, 1821.War dance of Sioux Indians, near Mobridge, S. D. , Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United StatesVillage Activities, Gualtherus Kolff, After Jonkheer Josias Cornelis Rappard, 1868 - 1881 print Leaf with eight performances of a home and activities in a village in the former colony of the Dutch East Indies, including sambal roasting, watering water and playing with the child. Under each image a caption in Malays and Dutch. Numbered at the top right: No. 6. publisher: Leidenprinter: Arnhemafter drawing by: Netherlands paper housing. Asiatic races and peoples Dutch East Indies, The