DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0141
86
E. A. Hooton
General Dundas sailed for England on the fifth of March, 1803. It is apparent that
General Dundas is the English Governor of the Colony referred to in the memoir of Peron
and Lesueur, for whom Thibault made the drawings of the Hottentot woman. The date
on the detail drawing is 1801, and although both Yonge and Dundas held the office in
this year there is no doubt as to which of the governors Thibault was anxious to oblige,
since Yonge had treated him very badly, whereas General Dundas had befriended him.
Subsequent reference to Thibault in the Records shows that he was appointed In-
spector of Public Buildings,8 and realized his ambition of filling out the residue of his
years in useful and honorable work.
A casual reference to Thibault appears in a letter written by Lady Anne Barnard
to Henry Dundas, dated “The Castle, Cape of Good Hope, November 29, 1797”:9
“The second largest house in Hottentot Holland was purchased lately by a Mr.
Thibaut, a Frenchman, and I believe he is supposed to have a hankering after the doc-
trines of that nation; it is situated near a lake, and that lake is within a mile of Modergal
Bay.”
It remains to be considered how these drawings of Thibaut, (also spelled Thibault,
Thibaul, and Thiebault) came into the possession of the East India Marine Society of
Salem, Mass. There is a possibility that the drawings here reproduced are not the ones
referred to by Thibault as made at the request of the English governor. The date on the
detail drawing may possibly be 1807, as stated in the Catalogue of the East India Marine
Society, instead of 1801, as the last figure is ambiguous. The elaborate margins on the
drawings, however (not reproduced in the plates), with written instructions as to the fram-
ing, are exactly what would be expected in drawings designed for the private collection
of a colonial governor. It is scarcely likely that the artist made more than one set of
drawings of Hottentot women which would answer to the description of Peron.
Assuming that these drawings were made for General Dundas, it is possible to account
for their present ownership. It should be remembered that the drawings of Thibault
were made in 1801, that General Dundas sailed for England in March, 1803, and that the
drawings came into the possession of the East India Society some time prior to 1821. It
is possibly significant that the other two drawings of a Hottentot woman reproduced
here were made at the Cape in March, 1803. Ships from Salem in the East India trade
called very frequently at the Cape of Good Hope during this period, as may be seen from
the lists of arrivals preserved in the Records of the Cape Colony. The English at the Cape
often sent mail home by American ships. Indeed, in the very year 1801 there occurs in
8 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 404; cf. vol. 16, p. 227; vol. 17, p. 327, 335.
9 Lady Anne Barnard, South Africa a century ago, (1797-1801), London, 1901, p. 119,
E. A. Hooton
General Dundas sailed for England on the fifth of March, 1803. It is apparent that
General Dundas is the English Governor of the Colony referred to in the memoir of Peron
and Lesueur, for whom Thibault made the drawings of the Hottentot woman. The date
on the detail drawing is 1801, and although both Yonge and Dundas held the office in
this year there is no doubt as to which of the governors Thibault was anxious to oblige,
since Yonge had treated him very badly, whereas General Dundas had befriended him.
Subsequent reference to Thibault in the Records shows that he was appointed In-
spector of Public Buildings,8 and realized his ambition of filling out the residue of his
years in useful and honorable work.
A casual reference to Thibault appears in a letter written by Lady Anne Barnard
to Henry Dundas, dated “The Castle, Cape of Good Hope, November 29, 1797”:9
“The second largest house in Hottentot Holland was purchased lately by a Mr.
Thibaut, a Frenchman, and I believe he is supposed to have a hankering after the doc-
trines of that nation; it is situated near a lake, and that lake is within a mile of Modergal
Bay.”
It remains to be considered how these drawings of Thibaut, (also spelled Thibault,
Thibaul, and Thiebault) came into the possession of the East India Marine Society of
Salem, Mass. There is a possibility that the drawings here reproduced are not the ones
referred to by Thibault as made at the request of the English governor. The date on the
detail drawing may possibly be 1807, as stated in the Catalogue of the East India Marine
Society, instead of 1801, as the last figure is ambiguous. The elaborate margins on the
drawings, however (not reproduced in the plates), with written instructions as to the fram-
ing, are exactly what would be expected in drawings designed for the private collection
of a colonial governor. It is scarcely likely that the artist made more than one set of
drawings of Hottentot women which would answer to the description of Peron.
Assuming that these drawings were made for General Dundas, it is possible to account
for their present ownership. It should be remembered that the drawings of Thibault
were made in 1801, that General Dundas sailed for England in March, 1803, and that the
drawings came into the possession of the East India Society some time prior to 1821. It
is possibly significant that the other two drawings of a Hottentot woman reproduced
here were made at the Cape in March, 1803. Ships from Salem in the East India trade
called very frequently at the Cape of Good Hope during this period, as may be seen from
the lists of arrivals preserved in the Records of the Cape Colony. The English at the Cape
often sent mail home by American ships. Indeed, in the very year 1801 there occurs in
8 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 404; cf. vol. 16, p. 227; vol. 17, p. 327, 335.
9 Lady Anne Barnard, South Africa a century ago, (1797-1801), London, 1901, p. 119,