Antique Print of Elephants by Baldaeus (1672)

Description: Antique print, untitled. This original antique print shows elephants working on the island of Ceylon / Sri Lanka. Dutch text and another engraving showing a group of people gathered outside a schoolhouse near the sea and sailing vessels on the right, on verso. From: 'Naauwkeurige Beschryvinge van Malabar en Choromandel…en het machtige Eyland Ceylon'… by Philippus Baldaeus, published in The Netherlands 1672.

Artists and Engravers: Made by 'Philip Baldaeus' after an anonymous artist. Author: Philip Baldaeus (1632-1672). Father Philippus Baldaeus, Baelde or Philip Balde (October 1632, Delft - 1672, Geervliet) was a Dutch minister. He went to Jaffna, Ceylon with an invading Dutch force during 17th Century. As the first European he documented the life, language and culture of Tamil people, living in the north of the island. It is a great historical record, similar to Mahawamsa, and it was immediately published in Dutch and German (with many beautiful plates).