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Portrait of a Woman with Neck Markings

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A photograph depicting a woman in profile with a headwrap and horizontal markings on her neck.
Portrait of a woman wearing a headwrap and striped cloth. Photographed by William Henry Crosse, Royal Niger Company, c. 1886-1895.

A monochromatic photograph depicting a woman in profile from the chest upward. The subject wears a voluminous floral textile headwrap and a vertically striped cloth draped over her left shoulder. Visible adornments include a thin dark cord necklace and multiple thin, light-toned horizontal parallel bands around the mid-neck. The image is a close-up portrait with a shallow depth of field, showing blurred foliage in the background. The photograph was taken by William Henry Crosse, Principal Medical Officer of the Royal Niger Company, between 1886 and 1895.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Aug 03, 2026

The subject wears a headwrap of high-status trade cloth, likely silk or Madras, common among women of rank in the Lower Niger region during the late 19th century.

Onyeka Nwokike

Aug 03, 2026

The raised horizontal parallel neck bands are a form of cicatrization historically practiced by groups such as the Igbo, Igala, and Nupe in the Niger River basin to signify social standing and ethnic identity.

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