15 - Hans Burgkmair the Elder – The People of Calicut – An Early Depiction of Brazilian Tupinambá Weapons and Feather work

Hans Burgkmair the Elder – The People of Calicut – An Early Depiction of Brazilian Tupinambá Weapons and Feather work Description: A remarkable procession of the so-called People of Calicut, represented as exotic warriors wearing elaborate feather headdresses and skirts and carrying bows, arrows, spears and large wooden clubs. From the celebrated Triumphal Procession of Emperor Maximilian I (Triumphzug Kaiser Maximilians I), one of the most ambitious woodcut projects of the German Renaissance. Woodcut after the design by Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531), created during the early sixteenth century as part of Emperor Maximilian I's vast artistic programme intended to perpetuate the glory of the emperor and the Habsburg dynasty. Particularly fascinating is Burgkmair's combination of European ideas about the peoples of distant Calicut with remarkably accurate representations of objects from the newly encountered Americas; the feather ornaments and characteristic wooden clubs have been associated with Brazilian Tupinambá material culture. Early impressions are very rare. This impression was printed from the rediscovered original early sixteenth-century woodblock used for this edition. One of the most fascinating early European representations of exotic peoples and material culture from the Age of Discovery, bringing together imagery associated with the long-known Indies and the recently discovered Americas. Dimensions: 37,00 x 37,50 cm Condition: Very good impression on strong laid paper, with the full plate border, with wide margins, without visible watermark. verso clean. Overall in excellent condition. Literature: Bartsch 123; Schestag 130; Meder 388. Hollstein 552–618 Medium: Woodcut Date: 1516-1518