Habitus praecipuorum populorum, tam virorum quam foeminarum singulari arte depicti
Woodcut
1577 (made)
1577 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Woodcut, coloured by hand, depicting an Arabic man. Lettered with title in Latin, a descriptive verse in German, and numbered.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Woodcut, coloured by hand |
| Brief description | Illustration by Jost Amman entitled 'Mauritanus Ex Arabia' from a set of 219 woodcuts entitled 'Habitus praecipuorum populorum, tam virorum quam foeminarum singulari arte depicti'. German School, 1577. |
| Physical description | Woodcut, coloured by hand, depicting an Arabic man. Lettered with title in Latin, a descriptive verse in German, and numbered. |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | During the medieval period, the term ‘Moor’ was commonly used to refer to Muslims of the Islamic Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, who were of Arab or Berber descent. The term comes from the Greek word mauros meaning ‘black’ or ‘very dark’ and as late as the 17th century, the Moors were supposed to be mostly black or very dark-skinned. Thus the term was often used, even into the 20th century, with the sense ‘black person’. While not necessarily a derogatory term it is archaic and inaccurate as it lumps Muslim and non-Muslim Arabs, Berbers and other Africans together. While the appearance of the term in its historical context is unlikely to cause offence, any contemporary use should be avoided. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | SP.43 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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