Peoples, Tattoos, Tahiti, Woman, Man
Homme de Taeti & Femme de l'Isle de Taiti – Tahiti, ca. 1788
Pair of original antique copper engravings with rare contemporary hand coloring, depicting a man and woman from Tahiti, each identified by the original French captions as “Homme de Taeti” and “Femme de l'Isle de Taiti.”
These finely detailed late-18th-century prints depict Tahitian figures with extensive tattoos and traditional dress. The woman is shown carrying a woven basket filled with flowers or vegetation, while the man holds a long staff. Their tattoos are rendered in contrasting colors, making the original hand coloring particularly striking.
The plates were engraved by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (1757–1810) and published in his important ethnographic work Costumes civils actuels de tous les peuples connus, Paris, beginning in the late 18th century. The work is notable for its early European depictions of the dress, customs, and appearance of peoples from around the world.
The illustrations are especially interesting in the history of tattooing, a practice strongly associated with the peoples of Tahiti and the wider Polynesian world. The English word tattoo itself derives from Polynesian usage recorded during the European voyages to the Pacific.
Details
- Date: ca. 1788
- Artist/engraver: Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (1757–1810)
- Titles: Homme de Taeti and Femme de l'Isle de Taiti
- Subject: Tahiti / Polynesia / Indigenous peoples
- Medium: Copper engraving with original hand coloring
- Publication: Costumes civils actuels de tous les peuples connus, Paris
- Condition: Minor signs of age and use; light printing lines partially visible
- Size: Each approximately 18 × 12 cm (7 × 4.7 in.)
- Original antique prints
