1599 The Escort of a High Class Native of Bali
Wie sich die Furnemsten in der Insel Baln tragen lassen. XXXV
By: Theodor de Bry
Date: 1599 (circa) Amsterdam
Dimensions: 11.75 x 8 inches (30 cm x 20.3 cm)
This is print XXXV in de Bry's series on the city-sultanate Bantam in Java, located across the straits from Sumatra. The engraving depicts the fashion in which upper class citizens of Bali are transported. It might be a scene from any large city in Europe, though the porters have the poles on their shoulders, thus keeping their charge well off the ground.
Having started his professional career as an engraver, during the three years he lived in London de Bry became acquainted with the geographer Richard Hakluyt, whose stories of expeditions to exotic foreign lands engendered in de Bry a desire to make the discoveries known to a wider reading public. Most of his books were based on first-hand accounts by the explorers themselves.
Condition: This print is in B condition. There is toning, soiling and foxing. Separations on the lower border have been repaired with archival material on the verso.
Inventory #19538
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