Africana
Designer Jean Jacques Boissard French
Engraver Julius Goltzius Netherlandish
Publisher Caspar Rutz Netherlandish
Not on view
Engraving, part of 'Habitus variarum orbis gentium' (Costumes of the various peoples of the world), representing the costumes of men and women from various parts of the world, engraved after designs by Boissard and published by Rutz in 1581.
This engraving represents three African women, all dressed with long, draped robes with round collars with small ruffles and long, bell sleeves, covered almost entirely by draping cloaks with brooches on the right shoulder. The woman on the left has her hair tied back with braids and wears a pearl necklace and long hoop earrings and flat shoes with slightly pointed toes. The woman on the center has her hair curled and pulled up with braids, and wears long pendant earrings with interlacing hoops; her shoes are flat and with pointed toes. The woman on the right has her hair braided and tied back with a headscarf that also wraps her forehead and chin. She holds a fringed handkerchief in the left hand. Her feet are covered by flat shoes with rounded toes.
