Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
1784, first edition atlas from Captain Cook’s third and final voyage
Copper plate engraving
24 × 20 in. including archival mat (61 × 50.8 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI; Lahaina Printsellers, Maui, HI
This copper plate engraving after John Webber depicts a young woman of Otaheite dancing, using the historical European name for Tahiti. Published in 1784 in the first edition atlas from Captain Cook’s third and final voyage, the image belongs to the official visual record of the expedition. Webber’s drawings helped shape European understanding of Tahitian performance, dress, and social life during the late 18th century.
The figure is presented as a cultural subject, with attention given to posture, movement, and costume. Copper plate engraving translated Webber’s original observations into a published image intended for readers of Cook’s voyage. As a historical Pacific print, the work records both Tahitian dance as viewed by European observers and the print culture through which Polynesian subjects circulated.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
1784, first edition atlas from Captain Cook’s third and final voyage
Copper plate engraving
24 × 20 in. including archival mat (61 × 50.8 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI; Lahaina Printsellers, Maui, HI
This copper plate engraving after John Webber depicts a young woman of Otaheite dancing, using the historical European name for Tahiti. Published in 1784 in the first edition atlas from Captain Cook’s third and final voyage, the image belongs to the official visual record of the expedition. Webber’s drawings helped shape European understanding of Tahitian performance, dress, and social life during the late 18th century.
The figure is presented as a cultural subject, with attention given to posture, movement, and costume. Copper plate engraving translated Webber’s original observations into a published image intended for readers of Cook’s voyage. As a historical Pacific print, the work records both Tahitian dance as viewed by European observers and the print culture through which Polynesian subjects circulated.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
