Wahlbom, Johann Wilhelm Carl 1810-1858 :[Polynesian or Aboriginal group seated outside a hut, with a battle raging in the background] / C. Wahlbom inv. & sculps., [Stockholm?] 1835

On the left, a hut made of logs and thatching. A group of four naked adults and a baby is seated in the centre. The man on the left is kneeling in front of a woman with leg-tattoos, who appears to be sleeping. A man in the centre is seated at a higher level. He has a snake-like pattern tattooed on his chest and is bearded. At his feet, a woman, also with leg tattoos, is seated, breast-feeding a baby. A small group of people is at war in the background, with spears and a bow and arrow, engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

The artist Carl Wahlbom was a Swedish illustrator. During 1835 to 1837 he was principally engaged on engraving illustrations for G. H. Mellins and N. H. Thomson's "Museum for naturvetenskap, konst och historia" [Museum for Natural Science, Art and History] and it is possible that this illustration is from that source. The etching may be a re-engraving from another unknown source or it may be an invention of the artist's. The tattoos of several people in this illustration suggests that the scene is intended to be Polynesian (but not Maori), while the facial features and hairstyles suggest that the subjects could be Aborigines. The scene appears to be inaccurate in its details and is unlikely to have come from an eye-witness account.

Quantity: 2 b&w art print(s) etchings.

Physical Description: Etching 181 x 217 mm (image), 199 x 235 mm (plate-mark) on sheet 228 x 277 mm

Provenance: Purchased by the vendor in Stockholm in 1980 from a print dealer. Said to be illustrations from a missionary journal.