Antique Print of the first incarnation of Vishnu by Baldaeus (1672)

Description: Antique print, untitled. This original antique print shows the first incarnation of Vishnu in the form of a fish, Matsya. Matsya on the right, with four devotees in adoration, above whom Brahma emerges from a lotus flower. Dutch text 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).