Antique Print with Bengal scenes by Van der Aa (1725)

Description: Plate: 'Femmes Benjanoises brulees aupres les corps de leurs Maris. - Funerailles des femmes Benjanoises, brulees vives aupres les corps de leurs maris. - Cruaute des elephans contre leur propre peuple. Chars Bengalois tirez par des boeufs & la prise des foulques.' (Bengal women burnt near the corpses of their husbands. - Funerals of Bengal women burnt alive near the corpses of their dead husbands. - Cruelty of elephants against their own people. - Bengalese carriages drawn by cows and the catch of coots.) Extremely rare in this edition.

This plate originates from the very scarse: 'La Galerie Agreable du Monde (...).Tome premier des Indes Orientales.', published by P. van der Aa, Leyden, c. 1725. This famous work was published in 66 parts and is the biggest print / map book ever published. Van der Aa incorporated plates by other publishers such as Blaeu, Visscher, de Wit, meurs, Halma, Mortier, Allard in this work and often added broad decorative borders. Probably the costliest and complete universal geographic work ever produced. It is said that only 100 copies were printed. Ref: Koeman Aa9; Phillips 2780 note. This plate was originally published in 'Naauwkeurge versameling der gedenkwaardigste zee- en land-reysen', a series of accounts of voyages (1706-08). Van der Aa published 130 translations of important 15th, 16th and 17th Century Travel Narratives to the America, Africa and Asia, which were issued in 28 volumes in the early part of the 18th Century. Many of them are extremely scarse or unobtainable. The decorative borders were added and are typical for this edition.

Artists and Engravers: Pieter van der Aa (Leiden 1659-1733) was a Dutch publisher best known for preparing maps and atlases. The Galerie Agreable contains plates and maps by the best Dutch engravers: Luiken, Goeree, Mulder, Stoopendaal, Aldert Meijer, Romeyn de Hooghe, ao.