Portrait of Bennilong; a native of New Holland,who after experiencing for two years the Luxuries of England, returned to his own Country and resumed all his savage Habits.
[London, 1817.]
Engraving. 210 x 160mm (8¼ x 6¼"). Trimmed to plate at top, narrow margins elsewhere.
Bennelong (c.1764-1813) was an aborigine kidnapped by Governor Philip in 1789 and forced to learn English, following orders from King George III to open relations with the locals. He was brought to England in 1792 and was said to have had an audience with the king, although there is no evidence. He returned to Australia in 1795 where he returned to the bush and led a clan. His grave was found in 2011 in the garden of a private house in present-day Putney, New South Wales, which is being turned into a museum. From George Alexander Cooke's 'Modern and Authentic System of Universal Geography'.
Rex Nan Kivell Collection, NK4777. A similar portrait thought to depict Bennelong, signed 'W.W.' is now in the Dixson Galleries of the State Library of New South Wales.
[Ref: 58729] £260.00
Engraving. 210 x 160mm (8¼ x 6¼"). Trimmed to plate at top, narrow margins elsewhere.
Bennelong (c.1764-1813) was an aborigine kidnapped by Governor Philip in 1789 and forced to learn English, following orders from King George III to open relations with the locals. He was brought to England in 1792 and was said to have had an audience with the king, although there is no evidence. He returned to Australia in 1795 where he returned to the bush and led a clan. His grave was found in 2011 in the garden of a private house in present-day Putney, New South Wales, which is being turned into a museum. From George Alexander Cooke's 'Modern and Authentic System of Universal Geography'.
Rex Nan Kivell Collection, NK4777. A similar portrait thought to depict Bennelong, signed 'W.W.' is now in the Dixson Galleries of the State Library of New South Wales.
[Ref: 58729] £260.00