drawing
- Museum number
- Oc2006,Drg.42
- Description
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Drawing; Aboriginal man standing, holding two spears and a shield. Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia.
Watercolour
- Production date
- 19thC
- Dimensions
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Height: 22 centimetres
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Width: 14 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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The vendor's initial letter to the BM 10 September 1964 states that he had recently noted two early watercolour drawings amongst his family archives which appear to have some ethnological interest. 'They are drawings of naked savages, which were drawn "on the spot" by the artist accompanying some expedition. On the reverse sides are pencil notes (presumably by the artist) describing the drawings and mentioning "Port Jackson". The watermarked paper used (17??) indicates the early date when the sketches were produced'.
A watermark of part of a crown is visible on the top right hand corner.
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See similarity to drawing in State Library of New South Wales, 'Natives of New South Wales; drawn from life in Botany Bay', No. 7, Call Number PXB 513, being an album of watercolours with the following notes:
'Joseph Tetley was first lieutenant on HMS Porpoise, the ship that brought William Bligh to Sydney in 1806 to take up the governorship of New South Wales. He probably acquired this set of watercolours in Sydney in 1806. Reference: A Rage for Curiosity / by Richard Neville. Sydney : State Library of New South Wales Press, 1997. There are two other known sets of drawings, one held in the Dixson Galleries and the other in an English private collection. See:
Twelve watercolour drawings of Australian Aborigines. Dixson Galleries (DGB 10) Mitchell Library.
Australian aborigines / drawn from life by Captain Tetley, c. 1805 ; edited by J. Stevens Cox. St. Peter Port : Toucan Press, 1977.
Further research notes, including a comparison of the three sets of drawings, are available at PXn 266 and PXn 590, Mitchell Library. Digital order no:Album ID : 823522'.
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Vincent Megaw (1993:38-40) discusses this drawing and drawing Oc,2006 Drg.43. He describes them as 'two unsigned watercolours purchased by the British Museum in 1964 from the family papers of J. Tillotson Hyde, a former member of the staff of the Museum; these drawings have only briefly been mentioned previously in print...Both watercolours carry on the verso contemporary inscriptions. One, which has an incomplete watermark '17...', is described as "a Native of Port Jackson in the /[A]ttitude of Deffence". This is followed by "No 2" in what may be another hand...These two pictures have recently been ascribed to Thomas Watlling on the basis of a comparison with the large body of works undoubtedly by him now held in the Natural History Museum, London but, in view of the comparatively crude nature of the sketches, the present author, and, more significantly, Professor Smith in litt., prefers the anonymous ascription followed here'...A search of the early published accounts of Port Jackson has not revealed any other reference or approximation of the name "Tauger Nanna". On the other hand, they have the appearance of works executed in the Colony and perhaps intended for transmission to London and subsequent use as the basis of a published illustration'.
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Oc-Dr42 and Oc-Dr43 were probably done by the same artist.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited
1988 31 Mar-29 May, Commonwealth Institute, London
1988 25 Jun-31 July, The Usher Gallery, Lincoln
Exhibited for exhibition 'Stories of Australian Art' curated by Jonathan Watkins. See publication of same name published by Commonwealth Institute and Australian Studies Centre, London.
- Condition
- good condition
- Acquisition date
- 1964
- Acquisition notes
- One of two drawings depicting Aboriginal people from Port Jackson purchased by the BM in 1964 from James Tillotson Hyde. See correspondence to Adrian Digby 1964.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Oc2006,Drg.42
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: Oc2006-Drg42-Ano
