Khoikhoi Man of Southern Africa, Antique Hand-Colored Ethnographic Print, 1854

A Khoikhoi man of southern Africa, an original antique hand colored print of 1854, the coloring applied by hand over a printed outline. The caption below the figure reads HOTTENTOT., the old Dutch name for the Khoikhoi, quoted here only as printed on the plate.

The man stands full length with his feet set wide apart on a strip of grassy ground, facing the viewer and drawing a bow. His left arm is stretched out to the viewer's right holding the bow, and his right hand draws the string back toward his face. A long cloak of pale fur hangs from his shoulders behind him. He wears a belt of several strands of colored beads with a yellow apron in front, red bands on his wrists and forearm, beaded bands at both ankles, and a small red pendant at his chest. His hair is short and tightly curled.

No artist, lithographer or publisher is named on the plate, and there is no plate number above or below the image; the printed caption is the only lettering on the sheet.

The plate comes from the second volume, the Tweede Deel, of De Volken van den Aardbodem, the Dutch edition of Heinrich Berghaus's illustrated work on the peoples of the world, translated from the German by M. J. van Oven and published at Gorinchem by J. Noorduyn en Zoon in 1854. The title page of the volume announces 120 extra fine plates colored after nature. Berghaus was a German geographer, best known for his Physikalischer Atlas.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right corner. Several larger brown marks.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.