West African Studies

A full-page black-and-white photograph of a Calabar Chief seated on a decorative, carved high-backed chair. He is bare-chested, wearing a crown with vertical ornaments and several beaded necklaces and wristlets. He holds a long, light-colored staff in his right hand. A large, patterned ceremonial cloth is draped around his waist and over his lap. His feet, in light-colored slippers, rest on a patterned carpet. The setting appears to be a formal interior with a carved pillar visible in the background.

Calabar, located in present-day southeastern Nigeria, was a major coastal trading center during the nineteenth century. A Chief in this region, particularly among the Efik people, was often the head of a "House," which functioned as both a large family unit and a powerful commercial corporation.