Sebastian Münster – Brazil and the Indigenous Peoples of America – Four Consecutive Illustrated Leaves from the 1628 Cosmographia – Basel – Original Woodcuts

Description

An unusually coherent group of four original double-sided leaves from Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, Basel, 1628, forming a substantial continuous section from the celebrated account of the Americas and, in particular, Brazil and its Indigenous peoples. Each leaf measures approximately 23.8 x 37.5 cm, retaining generous margins around the printed area.

The leaves comprise the sequence pp. 1723–1730, with the page appearing as 1709 in the photographs understood within the sequence as the page corresponding to 1725. The University of Basel’s detailed guide to the 1628 Cosmographia places the chapter “Von den Ländern Americe” in this precise part of the volume, identifying the Brazil material and the large woodcut subjects occurring on pp. 1727–1729.

The sequence opens on p.1723 under the running heading “Von den Ländern Americe”, concluding material relating to Paraguay before p.1724 introduces “Von Brasilia. Cap. XXX.” A large woodcut on this page depicts two Indigenous Brazilian figures, one carrying a bow and arrows, within a landscape. The accompanying German letterpress discusses Brazil, its inhabitants, settlements and customs.

The following leaf contains one of the most visually arresting images in the group: a large woodcut showing armed Indigenous combatants engaged in battle, with bows, arrows and clubs, densely arranged across the composition. The reverse, p.1726, contains another substantial woodcut illustrating the taking or presentation of captives, with groups of figures gathered in a landscape. These images belong to the extensive early-modern European visual tradition through which Brazil and its peoples were represented to readers who would never themselves encounter the Americas.

The third leaf, pp.1727–1728, is particularly rich. Page 1727, headed “Von den Ländern Americe”, carries two substantial woodcut scenes concerning Brazilian customs. The University of Basel guide specifically records two large illustrations of Indigenous people on p.1727 and the celebrated figure carrying a bird and another animal on p.1728, corresponding exactly with the present leaves. The reverse includes a striking full-length figure carrying a suspended load and holding a large bird, accompanied by further figures beneath.

The final leaf, pp.1729–1730, contains some of the most compelling domestic and social imagery in the entire group. Page 1729 includes a large scene of an Indigenous family or communal group with food preparation, a child and a hammock, together with a second scene traditionally interpreted as relating to mourning or funerary customs. These subjects are again explicitly noted in the Basel institutional survey of this edition. Page 1730 contains a broad landscape woodcut with settlement, vegetation, figures and waterways, concluding this concentrated sequence of Brazilian material.

These illustrations should be understood within their historical context. They represent European early-modern interpretations of Indigenous American peoples and practices, assembled from travel narratives, second-hand accounts and longstanding visual conventions. Their importance lies not simply in what they purport to show, but in documenting how European readers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries encountered and imagined the Americas.

Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia was first published in German in Basel in 1544 and became one of the most influential geographical and cosmographical works of the early modern period. The 1628 Basel edition was issued by the Henricpetri press and represents the final and most extensive German edition. A complete copy is described as comprising 1,752 pages and around 1,500 smaller woodcut illustrations in addition to numerous maps, plans and views. Christie’s likewise records the 1628 edition as Basel: Henricpetri, 1628, confirming its substantial programme of woodcut maps and illustrations.

The present group is considerably more desirable than isolated miscellaneous Cosmographia leaves because it preserves four consecutive leaves from the America section, with a concentrated sequence of large woodcuts relating specifically to Brazil, Indigenous warfare, captives, domestic life, food, mourning, dress and landscape. As a surviving group, the leaves form an unusually evocative visual and textual document of seventeenth-century European engagement with the New World.

Condition

Good condition overall for four loose leaves approaching four hundred years old. General age-toning and browning, particularly towards the margins, with scattered spotting, staining and occasional small wormholes. There are some creases, edge irregularities and minor marginal losses, together with areas of darker staining towards the lower edges. The principal printed areas and woodcuts remain complete and strongly legible, with generally dark, clear impressions. The leaves retain broad margins and display well. Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

Author: Sebastian Münster (1488–1552)

Work: Cosmographia, Das ist Beschreibung der gantzen Welt

Publisher: Henricpetri

Place of Publication: Basel

Date: 1628

Section: “Von den Ländern Americe” / “Von Brasilia”

Pagination: Four consecutive leaves comprising pp. 1723–1730, including the anomalously numbered page within the sequence.

Size: Each leaf approximately 23.8 x 37.5 cm

Technique: Original woodcut illustrations with letterpress text on laid paper.

Language: German, printed in black letter.

Subject

Brazil; South America; Indigenous peoples of the Americas; early European ethnography; warfare; captivity; domestic life; mourning and funerary customs; travel and exploration; seventeenth-century geography.

Authentication

Each leaf has been handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at our Ripon gallery. The pagination, textual setting, illustrations and bibliographical context have been compared against institutional and bibliographical records for the 1628 Basel edition. A complete digitised copy of the 1628 Cosmographia is also publicly available for comparison.

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