About this sheet
Quechua Indigenous Costumes, South America – Hand-Colored Print, 1843
This original hand-colored engraving depicts members of the Quechua people of South America in traditional dress, presented within an idealized Andean landscape. Published in Paris circa 1843, the print forms part of the celebrated travel work Voyage autour du Monde et Naufrages célèbres by the French explorer Gabriel Lafond de Lurcy.
The composition portrays three figures dressed in distinctive regional attire, rendered with delicate hand coloring in shades of blue, red, yellow, and green. The setting includes native vegetation, mountainous scenery, and traditional dwellings, reflecting the nineteenth-century European interest in documenting the peoples and cultures encountered through exploration and travel literature.
Produced during a period when ethnographic illustration became increasingly popular, the engraving sought to introduce European audiences to the diversity of indigenous societies throughout the Americas. While idealized in certain artistic aspects, the print remains an important visual record of how the Quechua people were represented in early nineteenth-century geographical and travel publications.
The plate was drawn by Cattier and engraved by Mandarou, whose signatures appear in the lower margin. It was printed in Paris by Drouart at Rue du Fouarre and issued as part of Lafond de Lurcy's extensive account of voyages around the world. The engraving combines documentary interest with decorative appeal, making it desirable for collectors of travel literature, ethnography, indigenous cultures, South American history, and nineteenth-century costume prints.
Today the work offers both historical significance and decorative charm. Its careful hand coloring, attractive landscape setting, and connection to one of the major French travel publications of the period make it an appealing example of nineteenth-century ethnographic printmaking.
Keywords: Quechua, Peru, Bolivia, Andes, South America, indigenous peoples, Native American costume, ethnographic print, Andean culture, traditional dress, Gabriel Lafond de Lurcy, Voyage autour du Monde, Paris, Cattier, Mandarou, Drouart, exploration, travel literature, anthropology, costume engraving.
Special note: This is an original 19th-century print, not a reproduction. All items we offer are authentic period works of art over 100 years old. The print is sold unframed; any framed images are shown for presentation and interior inspiration only and may not always be on scale with the original.
Condition Report
Light age toning and scattered foxing in the wide margins, as expected for a print of this period. Minor handling wear and small age-related marks. The image remains well preserved with attractive original hand coloring.
Framing Tips
This print displays beautifully in a dark walnut, ebonized, or lightly gilded frame with an ivory museum mat. The soft colors and ethnographic subject work particularly well in libraries, studies, travel-inspired interiors, and collections of exploration or indigenous art.
Technique: Hand-colored engraving
Maker: Cattier (designer) and Mandarou (engraver), Paris, circa 1843
