Southern African Warrior with Shield and Spear, Antique Print, 1854

A warrior 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 KAFFER KRIJGSMAN., meaning warrior; the Dutch word used for the people is an old colonial term, quoted here only as printed on the plate.

The warrior stands full length, his head turned to the viewer's right, on a small patch of sandy ground. He wears a white feather in his hair and a blue band around his head. A long dark cloak, edged and lined with fur, hangs from his shoulders, and a striped animal skin is draped over his left shoulder and arm. With his left arm he holds a large oval shield before his body, and a long barbed spear rests diagonally across him, its butt on the ground at his feet. He wears a necklace of small beads.

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.

Loss or wear at the bottom right corner. Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.

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