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Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: February 16, 2015
Caption: Pocahontas, age 21, 1616
Additional Description: This portrait of Pocahontas (Matoaks) after a 1616 engraving by Simon van de Passe hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

Ætatis suæ 21. Ao. 1616.

Matoaks als Rebecka daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan Emperour of Attanoughkomouck als Virginia converted and baptized in the Chriƒtian faith, and Wife to the worʰ. Mr Tho: Rolff.

“Pocahontas, the Indian princess who allegedly saved the life of English colonist John Smith, survives and flourishes as an example of an early American heroine. While Smith may have embellished the story of his rescue, the importance of Pocahontas to relations between colonists and Native Americans is undisputed. Following her conversion to Christianity and marriage to Englishman John Rolfe, Pocahontas journeyed to England with her family to demonstrate the ability of new settlers and native tribes to coexist in the Virginia colony. While in England, Pocahontas sat for her portrait, which was later engraved. That print served as the basis for this later portrait. The painter included an inscription beneath the likeness, copied from the engraving, but through an error in transcription it misidentifies her husband as Thomas, the name given to their son.” — National Portrait Gallery
Submitted: October 26, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p335501
File Size: 1.568 Megabytes

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