Print representing a group of 'Malay': a man, two women and a child.

Charles Davidson Bell sketched a number of ethnographic studies of the different non-European South Africans he found while living there, some not long after he arrived in 1830, others while on an expedition into the Interior with Dr Andrew Smith in 1834 and more still on his return to Scotland sometime later. The sketches were heavily laden with the colonialists views and opinions on each ethnic group. 'Malays' were seen as elegant and graceful; 'Hottentots' (Khoikhoi) as uncouth; 'Kaffirs' (Xhosa) as warriors.

Bell was based at the Cape at the same time as the Herschels and in the small colonial community they became friends. Both were concerned about the plight of the non-European South Africans. They were also interested in the work of the missionaries. Though Bell never made a living from his work as an artist, he had copies made to give or to sell to interested friends. Some of these copies can be found in the Bell Heritage Trust Collection at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.