Antique Print of a Procession of Monks by Baldaeus (1672)

Description: Antique print, untitled. This original antique print shows a Procession of monks in Ceylon. A group of dancing monks, beating drums, in front of the abbot, seated on an elephant. 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).