Pitt Rivers Museum Luo Visual History

photograph scan of PRM number 1998.206.1.2

1998.206.1.2 (Print black & white)

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Key Information

Photographer

Coutinho and Sons, Mombasa

Description

A full length portrait of a young man wearing tusk or carved head ornaments, metal and plaited fibre arm rings, finger rings, leg and neck ornaments, with scarification designs on his abdomen. It is uncertain what group this man is from, but neither the ear-plugs and objects adorning the head, nor the waist-cord are similar to those worn by the Luo of Nyanza at this time. The background context does not also really support a Luo Nyanza location, but possibly somewhere else in the former Kavirondo region. [Gilbert Oteyo 22/04/2005 & CM 24/04/2007]

Cultural Group

?Luo

Region

Nyanza

Named Person

Coutinho and Sons, Mombasa

Pitt Rivers Source

Unknown

Research Notes

Cultural Group - From visiting researcher, Paul Lane, 6/9/2001 - "This photograph should be re-assigned to Kenya... as when photographs were taken this area was part of the Uganda Protectorate. 'Kavirondo' was also used to refer to the Luo, so amend the 'group' to Kavirondo Luo. Kavirondo became the Winam Gulf. Initially this was part of the Uganda Protectorate, but after the boundary change it became part of Kenya. [LP 27/9/2001] Biographical Information - There were J. B. Coutinho, Felix Coutinho, and Coutinho Brothers around the 1890s, Coutinho & Sons around 1900-1910, all of Mombasa. [JD 19/8/2005]

Date of Photograph

1920 circa

Accession number

1998.206.1.2

Further Information

Photographic Process

Print gelatin silver

Date Acquired

Unknown

For citation use:
Pitt Rivers Museum Luo Visual History "1998.206.1.2" 6 Jun. 2008. Pitt Rivers Museum. Accessed 19 Nov. 2015 <http://photos.prm.ox.ac.uk/luo/photo/1998.206.1.2/>.

© Pitt Rivers Museum