African Ruler Sekukuni and Large Drinking Cup
This large wooden drinking cup belonged to a chief called Sekukuni who ruled in southern Africa. In 1881 Sekukuni was captured by a British soldier, Sir Garnet Wolsey, and was photographed shortly after. Wolsely presented the cup and photograph to a local museum after his retirement to Dorset, England (The Red House Museum at Christchurch), and Leeds acquired the two items as a transfer in 2009.
Picture note: The handwritten caption on the photograph uses the word ‘Kaffir’, which was a racist slur at the time.
Image © Leeds Museums and Galleries