Artwork Page for Veddahs of Ceylon

Details / Information for Veddahs of Ceylon

Veddahs of Ceylon

c. 1880s

Scowen & Co.

(British, active Ceylon, 1876–1895)

or Skeen & Co.

(British, active 1860–1920)
Culture
India, 19th century
Medium
albumen print
Measurements
Image: 21.3 x 28.1 cm (8 3/8 x 11 1/16 in.); Paper: 21.3 x 28.1 cm (8 3/8 x 11 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the Karl B. Goldfield Trust 2018.222
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

The Veddahs were originally animists who believed that plants and inanimate objects had souls.

Description

The Veddahs or Veddas are an indigenous minority in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that may have been the island’s earliest inhabitants. These men are dressed in typical scant Vedda male garb for the 19th century—loincloths tied with a rope at the waist.
A horizontally oriented albumen print depicts two men with medium-dark skin tones and long hair. On our left, a man sits cross-legged on the ground, holding a long bow. To our right, a bearded man sits atop a large mound of dried grass, holding an ax and another bow. Both men wear loincloths and look toward us. Dense, leafy foliage fills the background behind them.

Veddahs of Ceylon

c. 1880s

Scowen & Co., Skeen & Co.

(British, active Ceylon, 1876–1895), (British, active 1860–1920)
India, 19th century

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