Portrait of male Fijian or New Zealander, circa 1882

carte de visite

Carte de visite, albumen print mounted on white card; Portrait of male Fijian or New Zealander, circa 1882 (see Manuscript Coll. 311); collected by Captain Richard C. Mears (1829-1899) during his travels as a shipmaster to the South Pacific; appears to be Maori tribesman (New Zealander) wearing a pake (cloak) made of muka cloth (plant fibers), face shows traditional ta moko tattooing; handwritten on back "Fijian or/ New Zealander".