Asaba-Onitsha: Portrait, taken by a Royal Niger Company employee between 1886 and 1895.

This group portrait was taken between 1886 and 1895 by an employee of the Royal Niger Company. Although the individuals are unidentified, the image is believed to represent people from the Asaba or Onitsha area, based on similar photographs from the time. The photo provides a historical snapshot of life and attire in these regions during the late 19th century. Preserved in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, it remains an important artifact for understanding Igbo cultural heritage and the colonial-era documentation of West Africa.

The written record

Historical context