The 1877 engraving “Warua Slave-Driver and Slave” from Across Africa portrays a slave-driver with a spear leading a bound slave across a sparse landscape, their minimal attire,loincloths and a headscarf, highlighted by detailed linework. It was published in the book Across Africa in 1877. A book by Verney Lovett Cameron (1844 – 1894) who was an English traveller in Central Africa and the first European to cross (1875) equatorial Africa from sea to sea._Wikipedia

In the 19th century, this Orientalist art fascinated viewers, exoticizing the “other” and sometimes arousing them with its power dynamics and allure.
Today, perceptions diverge. Those without a BDSM connection might see it as a stark historical record of oppression, focusing on its cultural and colonial context. In contrast, kinksters in the BDSM community might interpret the bondage and dominance as a visual parallel to their consensual explorations of power and submission, reimagining the tension through a lens of trust and desire. This split in perspective shows how art’s meaning shifts with personal experience, breathing new (or different) life into a 1877 sketch.