By faith
Indigenous Americas
The gods, priests and rites of the Americas and the Caribbean in 17th and 18th century engravings: the Aztec gods and Quetzalcoatl, the funeral rites of the Inca, the Carib priests, and the people of Virginia and Florida, chiefly from Montanus and Picart.
20 prints
Rites of the World
Celebration and Ritual: Engraving of Mexican Festivities in the Age of Discovery
Date not stated · 38.5 × 23.5 cm€540
Rites of the World · MDCLXXIII
Engraving of Rituals and Cremation Ceremonies in New Spain by Montanus, 1673
1673 · 19 × 31 cm€450
Rites of the World
Ritual Dance in Brazil in the 17th Century on a Copper Engraving by Montanus
Date not stated · 19 × 31 cm€450
Rites of the World · MDCCLXXX
Pre-Battle Rituals: The King of Florida and His Magician, ca.1780
1780 · 39 × 23 cm€390
Rites of the World · MDCCXC
Saturiova: The Warrior King of Florida Performing a Ritual Sacrifice, c.1790
1790 · 26.5 × 38 cm€360
Rites of the World · MDCCXXII
Carib Priests Instilling Courage: A Ritual Dance of the Caribbean, 1722
1722 · 26 × 40 cm€320
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Religious Ceremony of the Inhabitants of the Island of Hispaniola, 1734
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€280
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Funeral Ceremonies of the Orinoco and Brazilian Indigenous Peoples, 1734
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€280
Rites of the World
Florida Women Mourning Their Husbands, with Hermaphrodites in Ritual Service
Date not stated · 26 × 42 cm€280
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Quetzalcoatl Worship and Hunting Deity, Rare 1734 Engraving of Aztec Rituals
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€260
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Mexican Gods and Priests, 1734 Engraving of Aztec Deities and Religious Ritual
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€240
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Funeral Rites and Burial of Inca Nobles, 1734 Engraving of Old Peruvian Customa
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€240
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Mexican Penitence and Human Sacrifice, 1734 Engraving of Aztec Religious Rites
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€240
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Marriage and Infant Rituals among the Mexicans, Engraving from 1734
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€240
Rites of the World · MDCCCLVI
Zuni Sacred Spring, New Mexico, Litho from the Pacific Railroad Survey, 1856
1856 · 28.3 × 20.7 cm€220
Rites of the World · MDCCXXXIV
Healing and Funeral Rituals of the Paria Natives, imagined in 1734
1734 · 26 × 42 cm€190
Rites of the World · MDCCXCIV
Old Engraving of Mexican Festivities and Rituals in the Age of Discovery, 1794
1794 · 23.5 × 22.5 cm€180
Rites of the World · MDCCXXI
Antique Print of Two Idols of the Virginian Culture by B. Picart, 1721
1721 · 24.4 × 39.5 cm€130
Rites of the World · MDCCXXIII
Antique Print of Funeral Ceremonies of the Canadian People by B. Picart, 1723
1723 · 23.5 × 35.1 cm€125
Rites of the World · MDCCXXI
Antique Print of a Gathering Around a Fire in Virginia by B. Picart, 1721
1721 · 24.6 × 39.6 cm€100
Indigenous Americas in print
These engravings show how Europe imagined the religions of the New World in the century after the conquest. They draw on the reports of Spanish chroniclers, the drawings of John White and Jacques Le Moyne in Virginia and Florida, and the books of Arnoldus Montanus and Bernard Picart.
They are documents of European curiosity and misunderstanding as much as of the peoples they show, and they are collected as early images of the Americas.
Other faiths
Questions
Are these prints accurate records?
Partly. They often rest on eyewitness drawings, but the engravers in Amsterdam and Paris added European poses and settings. They are best read as early European images of American religion.