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Rites of the World
Mexican Penitence and Human Sacrifice, 1734 Engraving of Aztec Religious Rites
Anno Domini MDCCXXXIV1734
£205
$270 · €240
Original print, not a reproduction
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- Date
- 1734
- Sheet size
- 16.5 × 10.2 in (42 × 26 cm)
- Condition
- Good. Condition is good. The engraving retains crisp lines and deep impressions. There is light foxing and minor soiling in the lower right corner, along with small paper losses at the edges, but the image area is unaffected.
- Faith
- Indigenous Americas
- Collection
- Rites of the World
- Era
- 1700 to 1799, Mortier, Picart and the illustrated Bible
- Stock no.
- f_45020162
Mexican penances and the sacrifice of captives, a copperplate engraving of 1734 from Les Cérémonies et Coutumes Religieuses de tous les Peuples du Monde, engraved after designs by Bernard Picart (Tome VI, plate numbered 89 at the top). Two scenes appear on one sheet.
The upper scene, "Pénitences Mexicaines", is set in a vaulted chamber with a checkered floor, where an enthroned idol sits in front of walls covered with skulls. Penitents at the left and right hold stones and whips, and a group of attendants and musicians sit on the dais. The lower scene, "Sacrifice des Captifs", shows a stepped pyramid with priests performing the rite at the top beside two small shrines, while captives and armed figures stand at its foot among racks of skulls.
The scenes are European reconstructions, theatrical in their architecture, built from the written accounts of the conquest rather than from direct observation.
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