Engraving by Robert Benard: Potatow, Chief of Tahiti - From Cook's Voyages, French Edition, Framed

His turban is a masterclass in folded cloth, and his beard is no slouch either

This engraving is by Robert Benard, from Paris, France, and is ca. 1774. It is ink on paper. The Finden brothers engraved biblical scenes after J.M.W. Turner for the 1836 book Landscape Illustrations of the Bible, and Turner relied on sketches by artists who had visited the Holy Lands. A hand-tinted bust portrait of a bearded man in a large white wrapped turban and a fur-trimmed red garment. The face is shaded in gray, with warm color only in the clothing. A small caption runs below, inside a burnished frame and wide cream mat. It is 14 inches wide and 16.6 high.

Dignified, well wrapped, and clearly not rushed by the artist.