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Primary sourcePainting1879

Peace Messengers from Cetawayo

1879

An 1879 engraving depicting envoys sent by King Cetshwayo during the Anglo-Zulu War to negotiate peace.

This print depicts envoys sent by Cetshwayo during the war to seek peace with Britain.

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Black and white engraved print titled 'Peace Messengers from Cetewayo'. Dark silhouetted figures crowd a grassy foreground; several wear wide-brimmed hats and carry long staffs. Behind them, a large white curved shield and tall figures with feathered headdresses stand against a hatched sky.
Peace Messengers from Cetewayo, engraving, 1879.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white engraved print titled "Peace Messengers from Cetewayo," made by an unknown artist in 1879. It shows figures carrying staffs and wide-brimmed hats in the foreground, with a large white shield and feathered figures in the background.

Why it matters

The image illustrates one of Cetshwayo's attempts during the Anglo-Zulu War to negotiate peace with the British. It shows how contemporary British illustrated newspapers depicted events from the war, often shaping how the public understood the Zulu king and his people.

Look closer

  • What does the title tell you about the purpose of the messengers shown here?
  • Who might have made this print, and for what kind of publication?
  • What details in the image might reflect the artist's own assumptions about the Zulu people, rather than fact?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Cetshwayo kaMpande on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Sepia-toned studio portrait of a man in profile facing right, wearing a dark double-breasted coat, white collar, dark tie, and a white pocket square, with a close-cropped hairstyle and a stiff band-like headdress. Plain gradient backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Cetshwayo kaMpande, London 1882

Alexander Bassano · 1882

Black-and-white photograph of a seated man with a band across his head, a beaded necklace, and a fur or skin cloth over his lap. He is bare-chested and bare-legged, holding a long thin stick across his knees, against a pale draped backdrop.Photograph

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Photograph of Cetshwayo kaMpande, c. 1875

c. 1875

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Primary source

Cetshwayo, King of the Zulus

Carl Rudolph Sohn · 1882

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Secondary source

History of the Zulu War and Its Origin

Frances Ellen Colenso and Edward Durnford · 1880

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Cetywayo and His White Neighbours

H. Rider Haggard · 1882

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