IDNO

P.87274.VH

Description

Studio portrait of a big girl or young woman of what looks likes European and Fijian ancestry, possibly from Rotuma?. She has a sash over her right shoulder but most of her left breast is exposed, and is otherwise wearing a voluminous leafy liku overskirt over a fringed barkcloth isulu. Tobe plaitlets fall from behind each ear, and she has an ornamental comb in her hair, dangling ear drops, pendant at her throat, and a maltese cross hanging on a long necklace. See P.52311.VH.
Levuka, 1870s. [Fergus Clunie, 26/7/2003, updated JD 21/3/2012]

Dufty studio portrait of a young unmarried woman of what looks like part European and part Fijian ancestry, possibly from Rotuma?. The woman has tobe plaitlets behind each ear, an ornamental comb in her hair, and wearing dangling earrings, a throat pendant on a dark (cloth?) band, a long shell necklace, in dance or festive dress. Over her right shoulder and breast she is wearing a strange white-hemmed iwabale shoulder sash of what looks like smoked barkcloth, and her body is wrapped from above the waist to the knee in fringed masikuvui, or oiled and smoked barkcloth, covered by a leafy liku overskirt.
Circa 1875-1876. [Fergus Clunie, 14/7/2003, from record P.52311.VH, updated JD 18/11/2011]

Place

Oceania Polynesia; Fiji; Ovalau Island; Levuka; ?Rotuma [Rotumah]

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Dufty Brothers, Levuka

Collector / Expedition

von Hügel, Anatole (Baron)

Date

circa 1870 - 1880

Collection Name

Von Hugel Collection

Source

Format

Photomechanical Print

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.87222.VH to P.87277.VH were found loose in the Museum’s paper archive envelope, VH1/4/7, which has now been re-numbered C512/.

Place: The Place field was previously recorded as being “Oceania; Polynesia; Fiji; Ovalau Island; Levuka”, but the duplicate print is annotated as ‘?Rotumah’. The Place field has been amended accordingly. [JD 21/3/2012]

Photographer: This print was provisionally attributed to “?Dufty Brothers, Levuka”, but Dufty’s Levuka studio is recognisable through the use of the sideboard with a plainer and paler base (see P.87333.VH for same? sideboard with darker decorative scroll work and leaves? added to it). The sideboard is normally positioned to the left of the studio. This configuration of studio props appears to be used by Dufty between circa 1874 - 1875. The Photographer, Date, and Place fields have been amended accordingly. [JD 13/3/2012]

Related Image: A set of the same or similar woodburytype from Dufty portraits are in the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, some of which are named, see reference 1998.237 [E. Edwards]

This print has been catalogued with the support of the Getty Grant Program One. [A. Nadin, 2/7/2003]