IDNO

P.87322.VH

Description

Studio portrait of Ro Matanitobua, chief of Namosi in the southern highlands of Vitilevu. He is wearing a white barkcloth malo loincloth, the chiefly trail or maloyara of which is tucked into the waistband of his malo for convenience of movement. Above his left elbow he wears a gato bracelet cut from a sici or trochus shell. His massive pre-Christian hairstyle is ornamented with a tuft of what look like pale striped and frizzled vovoi pandanus leaf streamers on his left, and by other ornaments which the painting out of the background makes hard to identify to his right. Note the stand of the photographer’s clamp behind his feet. This and P.87321.VH are parts of the one original photograph.
Circa 1869-1871. [Fergus Clunie, 26/9/2003]

Physical Condition: Trimmed full length portrait of a Kai Colo ‘mountaineer’ in an oval vignette. Print mounted onto card. [A. Nadin, 2/7/2003]

Place

Oceania Polynesia; Fiji; Ovalau Island; Vitilevu; Namosi; Levuka

Cultural Affliation

Kai Colo [historically Big Head Mountaineers]

Named Person

Ro Matanitobua

Photographer

Dufty Brothers, Levuka (Dufty, Francis Herbert)

Collector / Expedition

von Hügel, Anatole (Baron)

Date

circa 1869 - 1871

Collection Name

Von Hugel Collection

Source

Format

Print Black & White Mounted

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.87321.VH to P.87342.VH were in the envelope now numbered C512/4/. This envelope came from the Museum’s paper archive envelope VH1/4/7, which has now been re-numbered C512/.

Photographer: This print was provisionally attributed to “?Dufty Brothers, Levuka”, but the uncropped and unmanipulated print of the same man, P.99864.VH, has been attributed to Dufty’s Levuka studio through recognition of the backdrop of foliage, including banana leaves, to the right and the pineapple? plant to the left. The same chair and fan also appear in a number of Dufty’s photographs. This configuration of studio props appears to be used by Dufty between circa 1870 - 1875. [JD 12/3/2012]

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