Omai, a native of Ulaietea

This engraving was originally taken from a painting by Nathaniel Dance and shows Omai, a native of Ulaietea, Polynesia. He holds a feather whisk in his right hand, a carved wooden headrest under his left arm and wears a robe of white tapa cloth. He is depicted in the genre of the noble savage, an image that both English society and Omai were happy to construct. Omai joined Captain Cook's second expedition when it visited Huahine in 1773 and he became a celebrity during his visit to England.