drawing
- Museum number
- Oc2006,Drg.76
- Title
- Object: Wortabowigee (in error)
- Description
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Drawing; watercolour, until 2017 thought to depict Wortabowigee (aka Fanny), a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman from Port Dalrymple. It is however Trukanini. She is wearing a neck-ornament and a fur trimmed cloak, and has scarification on her arms. This is one of seven portraits of Tasmanian Aboriginal people held by the British Museum which were done by G Gray, based on the work of Thomas Bock.
- Production date
- 1856 (circa)
- Dimensions
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Height: 28 centimetres
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Width: 22.30 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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For the error in the title and misidentification of this woman as Wortabowigee, rather than Trukanini, see Sculthorpe 2017.
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Plomley in 'Thomas Bock's Portraits of the Tasmanian Aborigines' in D. Dunbar "Thomas Bock, Convict Engraver, Society Portraitist" QVMAG, Launceston 1991:37 states that the copies of Bock's portraits by Gray were made for Joseph Barnard Davis from the series held in the Ethnological Society of London. Davis later bought the original Bock portraits from Robinson's widow in 1867.
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Window mounted, in good condition.
- Acquisition notes
- In a letter dated 14 February 1883 to Davis's widow, Franks states that he had acquired amongst other things, an oil painting of 'a Tasmanian native , which presume is by Du Terreau & and nearly all the framed drawings of natives.' in the Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge sale of Davis's collection in January 1883.
Letter in ‘pre-1896’ correspondence box ‘D’, Dept of Britain, Europe & Prehistory Archive, British Museum.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Oc2006,Drg.76
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: Oc2006-Drg76-Gra
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Other BM number: 2017,2016.1 (Once housed in album 2017,2016.1)
