Top of page

Photo, Print, Drawing Sketches of Khoikhoi.

About this Item

Title

  • Sketches of Khoikhoi.

Summary

  • These two sketches are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The sketch on the left depicts an older woman with a walking stick and poorly kept leggings; the sketch on the right depicts an elegantly dressed younger woman. The text, in Dutch, reads: "When the Hottentots are newly born their noses are pushed in, and they set so much store by this that a child from a certain Hottentot woman by a European father has been deemed to have been murdered, because the mother and child went inland and never reappeared again." This idea is probably fanciful, and may reflect racial concepts of the Dutch in the 18th century. The building in the background in the sketch at left is probably also unrealistic, as such a large structure would have been extremely unusual at the end of the 17th century. Hottentots was the name used for the Khoikhoi at the time of white settlement and is now considered derogatory. Much information about the Khoikhoi is available from early European accounts, but few illustrations exist. The drawings in the collection were made in situ and, unlike most early European depictions of the Khoikhoi, were never filtered through the eyes of European engravers. The artist most likely was a Dutchman, born in the 17th century, who was attached in some capacity to the Dutch East India Company and possibly en route to the Dutch East Indies or on his way back to the Netherlands when he visited the Cape. Evidence suggests that the drawings were made no later than 1713, and possibly a good deal earlier. Most of the drawings have annotations, made by another person, also unidentified, after 1730.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1700 to 1740]

Headings

  • -  South Africa--Western Cape
  • -  1700 to 1740
  • -  Cape of Good Hope
  • -  Clothing and dress
  • -  Indigenous peoples
  • -  Khoikhoi (African people)
  • -  Manners and customs
  • -  Women

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Reproduced as Plate 9 in The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope: Seventeenth-century drawings in the South African Library / text by Andrew B. Smith, from which this description is adapted. On recto of White horsemen; Lion hunt (INIL 6264v); number 6264 of a set: INIL 6250-6264."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 drawing : pen and black ink on paper ; 24 x 36 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of South Africa.
  • -  Content in Dutch.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670550

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Sketches of Khoikhoi. Western Cape South Africa, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670550/.

APA citation style:

(1700) Sketches of Khoikhoi. Western Cape South Africa, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670550/.

MLA citation style:

Sketches of Khoikhoi. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670550/>.