Family Group Portrait

Image Portraits

Three Igbo women and girls in striped woven fabrics in front of a thatched building.

A family group portrait by William Henry Crosse, Royal Niger Company, circa 1886-1895.

A photograph depicting a family group of three females positioned in front of an open-fronted structure with a thick thatched roof supported by unrefined wooden poles. The group consists of an adult woman seated in the center, wearing a large light-colored textile with prominent vertical stripes covering her torso and wrapping around her lower body, and two other females standing on either side. The female on the left is an adolescent or child with a bare upper torso and a striped loincloth, adorned with multiple thin necklaces and bracelets. The female on the right is an adult with a bare upper torso, wearing a long striped textile wrap around her hips and a large light-colored headwrap. All subjects wear circular necklaces and bracelets, utilizing woven fabrics characterized by repetitive parallel vertical stripes. The image is from the Crosse Collection, captured during the work of the Royal Niger Company between 1886 and 1895.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Oct 18, 2026

This photograph is part of a broader collection used in the 1900 publication Nigeria: Our Latest Protectorate by Rev. Charles Henry Robinson. Robinson noted in his preface that he was indebted to Dr. W. H. Crosse for the loan of many photographs taken during his time as a Medical Officer for the Royal Niger Company.

Onyeka Nwokike

Oct 18, 2026

The subjects are likely from the Western Igbo (Anioma) or Northern Igbo riverine communities, specifically those around Onitsha (Onicha) and Asaba (Ahaba). Asaba served as the judicial and administrative headquarters for the Royal Niger Company during its royal charter period (1886 to 1899). Crosse's role as Principal Medical Officer provided him with unique access to these local communities during the company's colonial-commercial expansion.

Onyeka Nwokike

Oct 18, 2026

The striped woven textiles seen here were characteristic of the 19th-century weaving traditions of the Niger River area, often produced on local vertical looms. The circular neck rings, or igba, were typically made of brass or copper and served as markers of marital stage or social status for women. The hairstyle of the seated woman, featuring upright tufts or knots, is a traditional Igbo style prevalent in the late 19th century, as described in the Igbo Archives.