Still life of shields and belts, Papua New Guinea, ca. 1890

"Western Shields, Belts, etc."; One of 113 albumen prints mounted in an album by W.G. Lawes. Formerly the first resident missionary on the South Sea island of Niue, Lawes transferred to Papua New Guinea in 1874 until his retirement in 1906. Lawes was a pioneer missionary photographer, and the first permanent non-indigenous resident of Papua New Guinea. He created the first photographic images of the islands and its peoples as well as images of missionary work, which were distributed commercially through Henry King of Sydney. Lawes' knowledge of, and role in, Papuan life was also of paramount importance to other photographers, particularly those of colonial government and expeditionary parties, such as the Australia-based professional photographer J. W. Lindt, who acknowledged the decisive role that Lawes played in facilitating his visit to Papua New Guinea and the photographic work he was able to carry out.

主题为「西部盾牌、腰带等」的照片，是W·G·劳伊斯（W.G. Lawes）所装帧的影集中的113张蛋白照片之一。劳伊斯曾担任南太平洋岛屿纽埃（Niue）的首位常驻传教士，1874年迁居巴布亚新几内亚（Papua New Guinea），直至1906年退休。劳伊斯是传教士摄影师先驱，同时也是巴布亚新几内亚的首位常驻非原住民居民。他拍摄了该群岛及其原住民的首批摄影影像，以及传教工作相关画面，这些作品经由悉尼的亨利·金（Henry King）进行商业发行。劳伊斯对巴布亚社会的了解及其在当地发挥的作用，对其他摄影师而言亦至关重要，尤其是那些隶属于殖民政府与探险队的摄影师，例如澳大利亚籍职业摄影师J·W·林特（J. W. Lindt）。林特曾明确提及，劳伊斯在协助他到访巴布亚新几内亚并顺利开展摄影工作一事上，发挥了决定性作用。