Masquerade Nuptuale and Portrait of Siriaco
The website that came along with this submission is in French, and although I don’t really know French, I did the best I could with the names, birthplaces, and descriptions of the people who are in these portraits:
Martinho de Mello e Castro, black native of Bahia, sent by the governor and captain-general of Pernambuco, José César Menezes, who arrived in 1787. He is 14 years old.
Dona Roza Corazon de Jesus, aged 18, from Horguetta (?) She was sent to the court by José Gonçalves da Conaro, then Governor of Angola and arrived in this city on September 7, 1781. She is famous for her face that combines vivacity, wisdom and grace that adds to her attractiveness.
Don Pedro, black native of Luanda, capital of the kingdom of Angola. He was sent to the court by the governor who was Baron Mossamedes. He is between 30 and 40 years old, recognizable in this portrait because of his unusual face.
Marcelino de Tapuia, from Mariuá sent by Martinho Souza e Albuquerque, the then governor of Pará; he is 26 years old.
Donna Anna Rio de Sena. She was sent to Portugal by Antonio de Mello y Castro, governor and captain general of Mozambique. She arrived in June 1787; she is 17 years old.
Dom José, native Maruide, aged 30: happened in Rio de Janeiro and from there to the court where it arrived December 24, 1786, sent by the viceroy of the states of Brazil, who was Luiz de Vasconcellos e Souza.
Siriaco, from Cotingiba where he rose to Bahia and from there sent to the Portuguese Court by Dom José Rodrigo de Menezes e Noronha who was then the Governor and Captain General [Bahia]. He is 12 and came to this court July 1786; exceptional and famous accidents of complexion can be seen in his portrait.
Sebastian, a native of Rio Sena where he was sent to Portugal by the then Governor and Captain General Mozambique Antonio de Melo e Castro, arrived in July 1787 and he is 31 years old.
The second portrait is of Siriaco on his own, minimally clothed to show his complexion. I’d encourage any readers who speak French or Portuguese to check out the site and hopefully do a better translation than I’m capable of. The names, ages, and birthplaces should at least be correct.
18th c portrait of Siriaco, African boy with vitiligo. Also portraits of people of colour who were dwarfs at the Portuguese court in the late 18th c., including Dona Roza, favourite of the Portuguese queen.
alienor.org/publications/mascarade-nuptiale/negre-pie.php