This morning we have Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (also known as Job ben Solomon).
It seems that he first came into western view as a slave trader in what is now Senegal, a slave trader who was both a Muslim and literate, able to read and write in Arabic.
He was captured by a rival gang of slave traders and sold off to one of the British colonies in North America. He must have been a very able chap because he somehow came to the attention of some people in London who bought him and brought him over, where he became something of a society pet and curiosity. He also earned some at least of his manumission by translating the Arabic inscriptions on curios collected by Hans Sloane, the main subject of the book at reference 2.
At some point, in time 1733, William Hoare was commissioned to paint his portrait, done up in the native clothes which he did not wear in London. He also has a amulet Koran hung around his neck, which he may not have cared for, being very averse to mixing pictures with worship. Acutely observing at one point that it was rather odd that the painter needed to dress him in native clothes in order to paint him as he seemed to have no trouble painting a clothed Almighty, whom he had never seen at all.
Eventually he was returned to West Africa as an agent of the RAC - not the people with a fancy golf club in Epsom, rather the Royal African Company - where, after exchanging letters and presents with his London backers for a while, he was nabbed by the French who popped him into jail. He then drops out of sight, with news of his death only getting back to London some time later.
The portrait also dropped out of sight for a while, but resurfaced to be snapped up by Qatar Museums' Authority of Doha of Qatar, who have loaned it to our National Portrait Gallery, on some basis or other. From where I have taken this image, for which I am grateful.
Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/earpicker.html.
Reference 2: Collecting the world - James Delbourgo - 2017.
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