IDNO

P.85659.ACH2

Description

On Catalogue Card for duplicate print P.244.ACH1: “Tatoos [sic] of men: 1 Darling river, 2, Hunter river, 3, Cape York, 4, Koorong.”
“1 2
3 4”

Composite plate of four half-length portraits of Aboriginal men with cicatrisation and tattoos acquired between the ages of five and nine, and showing from which region they are. From left to right:
1. "Darling river, below 143° longitude and 31 1/2 ° latitude the cicatrisation consists of finger-wide footlong ridges along the arms and on the stomach with shorter ones on the chest.
2. Hunter river (151° eastern longitude and 32° latitude), cicatrisation runs in diagonals over the chest.
3. Cape York, the cicatrisation looks similar to Persian writing (Zend).
4. Koorong. while in Coorong in southern Australia (139° eastern longitude and 36° southern latitude) it is similar to Cape York." [See Blandowski 1862, pl.74]

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Victoria; Darling River; Hunter River; Cape York; Koorong

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

von Blandowski, Wilhelm [Artist]

Collector / Expedition

von Blandowski, William [Blandowski Expedition to the Lower Murray River, 1857]

Date

1862

Collection Name

Haddon Collection

Source

?Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.85635. to P.85723. were tied together in a bundle.

Bibliographical Reference: Blandowski, William von, 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen (Unpublished), with the caption “Aborigines of Australia, Plate 158. William v. Blandowski, Australia. Tatoos [sic] of men: 1. Darling River 143o & 31 1/2o, 2. Hunter River 151o & 32o, 3. Cape York193o & 11o, 4. Koorong 139o & 36o”. [JD 23/8/2007]

Bibliographical Reference: For discussion of authorship see: Allen, H. 2006. Authorship and ownership in Blandowski's Australien in 142 Photographischen Abbildungen. Australasian Historical Archaeology 24:31-37. [Jane Lydon, Monash University, 8/7/2009]

CUMAA Exhibition: P.84112.ACH2 to P.85713.ACH2 were on display in the SSL as part of the Brook Andrew ‘The Island’ Exhibition, 24th June - 27th September 2008. [JD 25/6/2008]

Publication: Blandowski, W. 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen Ahbildungen. Gustav Neumann, Gleiwicz. Edited by Harry Alien. Translated from the German by Lillian Barton. Translation Copyright: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2007. with the caption:
“74. All Aborigines have tattoos and by looking at the form of it one can determine ancestry and home of the individual. The people acquire their tattoos between the ages of five and nine. At the Darling River below 143° longitude and 31 1/2 ° latitude the tattoos consist of finger-wide footlong ridges along the arms and on the stomach with shorter ones on the chest. At the Hunter river (151° eastern longitude and 32° latitude) they run in diagonals over the chest; at Cape York the decoration looks similar to Persian writing (Zend) - while in Coorong in southern Australia (139° eastern longitude and 36° southern latitude) it is similar to Cape York. Drawing by W. v. Blandowski.” [WV 1/4/2009]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 23/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Aboriginal Visual Histories Project, Monash University. [Wonu Veys 1/4/2009]