De Bry, Maritime Marvels of Dutch Seafarers at Cochin, 1601, Engraving

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Engraving by Theodore De Bry from 'Pars Quarta Indiae Orientalis\.,' 1601, with descriptive latin text below the image. This antique … Read more Engraving by Theodore De Bry from 'Pars Quarta Indiae Orientalis\.,' 1601, with descriptive latin text below the image. This antique engraving of over 400 years old, shows a terrifying encounter of Dutch explorers with a leviathan at Cochin. This early 17th-century copper engraving captures a chilling moment from the annals of Dutch maritime exploration. It depicts a harrowing scene where Dutch seafarers grapple with a gargantuan fish off the coast of Cochin, detailing the fear and awe such sights would have inspired in the hearts of early modern mariners. This piece forms part of a larger corpus of works produced under the supervision of the de Bry family, a lineage of renowned engravers and publishers based in Frankfurt. Initiated by Theodore de Bry in 1590, this series aimed to visually document the epoch of European global exploration and the encounters with the natural world that ensued. The engraving is a page from Part IV of de Bry's "Petits Voyages," which narrates significant expeditions to the East Indies, including those led by Jan Juygen van Linschoten and Cornelis de Houtman between 1595-97, as well as the journey by Jacob van Neck and Wybrandt van Warwijck in 1598-99. These works were not merely artistic endeavors but also ethnographic records, showcasing indigenous peoples, fauna, flora, and the diverse riches of lands like India, Madagascar, and the East Indies. Though Theodore de Bry began this ambitious project, it was continued posthumously by his family and later completed by his son-in-law, Matthaus Merian, in 1644. This particular engraving, rich in detail and drama, offers a window into the perilous and wondrous experiences of early explorers, and the ways in which these moments were captured and communicated to a European audience hungry for knowledge of the wider world. See less