July ART

Timed Online Auction, 3 - 14 July 2025

Works on Paper

Current Bid

ZAR 3 500
Lot 128
  • Henry Clifford De Meillon; Cape Costumes
  • Henry Clifford De Meillon; Cape Costumes
  • Henry Clifford De Meillon; Cape Costumes


Lot Estimate
ZAR 2 000 - 3 000
Current Bid
12 bids
Current bid ZAR 3 500
Location
Cape Town
Shipping
Condition Report
May include additional detailed images
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About this Item

Henry Clifford De Meillon
South African Active 1823-1856
Cape Costumes

signed and inscribed with the title

watercolour on paper
6 by 9,5cm excluding frame; 22 by 25 by 1,5cm including frame

Notes

This finely observed watercolour by Henry Clifford De Meillon captures a trio of Cape figures, each dressed in distinct attire that reflects the multicultural social fabric of the early 19th-century Cape Colony. De Meillon’s work is prized for its documentary value, offering rare visual insight into the clothing, posture and interpersonal dynamics of the period. With its restrained palette and precise linework, Cape Costumes exemplifies the artist’s sensitive approach to recording local life through a colonial lens, situating it within the broader tradition of ethnographic illustration in southern Africa.