Bernard Picart after John White. Plate 72. [Praying Around the Fire with Rattles]. From [Accurate Description of the . . . Customs of all Peoples of the World].
VIRGINIA. Translated from French into Low German by Abraham Moubach. Hauge: Alberts; Amsterdam: Hermanus Uytwerf; and Rotterdam: Jan Beman, 1728. 12 1/4 x 8 1/4 (image). Engraving. Minor water stain in right hand side just into plate mark bottom right hand corner; not affecting image.
This work first appeared in French entitled Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde and was published from 1723-1743. It consisted of ten volumes with text and engravings to illustrate the religious rituals and beliefs of the world. Picart never left Europe but used reports and illustrations from other firsthand sources. The image of this print is from the well known publication by Theodore Debry which first illustrated the indigenous peoples of Virginia.
This print is based upon John White’s drawings made during the first attempt to form a colony, and the text is based upon Thomas Hariot’s A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia, which was issued in 1588 in order to promote Raleigh’s continued efforts at founding his colony. Note: Print title is from the Stefan Lorant book, The New World: The First Pictures of America, 1965.
Other plates by Picart:
Plate 70. [Their Idol; God of the Winds]
Plate 71. [One of the Priests of Secota; The Sorcerer]
Plate 73. [The Tomb of the Weroans]
Plate 74. [The Sacrifice of First-Born Children; Offering the Skin of a Stag to the Sun]
Plate 75. [Saturiba Goes to War; Outina Consults a Sorcerer]
Plate 76. [Widows Approach the Chief; The Mourning Widows]
Plate 77. [Burial Ceremonies for a Chief or a Priest]