Prince Giolo, c.1692

An ornately tattooed ‘curiosity’ to exhibit

The Tattooed Man

Jeoly, later named Giolo, came from the island of Miangas, close to the Philippines, and was brought to England by the British adventurer, William Dampier, where he was exhibited as a curiosity.

This engraving was commissioned to promote this ‘Just wonder of the Age’. The pose of a typical European gentleman emphasises Jeoly’s alleged royal status. His striking tattoos ‘full of variety and Invention with prodigious Art and Skill’ were said to have powers to repel snakes, which are seen fleeing his presence in the print, although Dampier himself noted that Jeoly was as scared of snakes as he was.

While Jeoly met the King, he also found himself being exhibited as a curiosity in the Blue Boar’s Head Inn in Fleet Street. He was then taken to Oxford where he soon died of smallpox. A curiosity even in death, his skin was removed by an Oxford surgeon who presented it to the University’s Anatomy Museum. It has not survived.
Display item Prince Giolo, c.1692

 

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