'Three Kroomen of Sierra Leone' [Bray album]
No. 63 of 74 (PAJ1976 - PAJ2049)
A drawing presumably from the 'Pallas' voyage, 1774-75. The Krumen are a subgroup of the Grebo people who today live mainly along the coast of Liberia and the Ivory Coast, and have a strong seafaring tradition. They are related to but distinct from the Kru people further inland, and who originated further north. In the days of the transatlantic slave trade, the Krumen, like the coastal Fante, had a history of co-operation with European traders.
This is one of 73 drawings by Bray (plus one signed 'NF 1782') preserved in a 19th-century album. They have now been separately remounted. Bray (1750-1823), was second lieutenant of the 44-gun ‘Pallas’ under Captain the Hon. William Cornwallis (1744-1819) – later a well-known admiral - on two voyages (1774-77) to report on British interests in West Africa, including the slave trade. The dated drawings refer only to the first of these, from December 1774 to September 1775, though a few may be from the second. Others comprise country views, some of Deal, Kent (where Bray may have come from), and others of social-history interest.
A drawing presumably from the 'Pallas' voyage, 1774-75. The Krumen are a subgroup of the Grebo people who today live mainly along the coast of Liberia and the Ivory Coast, and have a strong seafaring tradition. They are related to but distinct from the Kru people further inland, and who originated further north. In the days of the transatlantic slave trade, the Krumen, like the coastal Fante, had a history of co-operation with European traders.
This is one of 73 drawings by Bray (plus one signed 'NF 1782') preserved in a 19th-century album. They have now been separately remounted. Bray (1750-1823), was second lieutenant of the 44-gun ‘Pallas’ under Captain the Hon. William Cornwallis (1744-1819) – later a well-known admiral - on two voyages (1774-77) to report on British interests in West Africa, including the slave trade. The dated drawings refer only to the first of these, from December 1774 to September 1775, though a few may be from the second. Others comprise country views, some of Deal, Kent (where Bray may have come from), and others of social-history interest.
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Object Details
ID: | PAJ2038 |
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Collection: | Fine art |
Type: | Drawing |
Display location: | Not on display |
Creator: | Gabriel Bray |
Date made: | Probably February 1775 |
Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Purchased with the assistance of the Society for Nautical Research Macpherson Fund |
Measurements: | Sheet: 218 x 277 mm; Mount: 315 mm x 480 mm |