Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
18th century
Copper plate engraving
16 × 20 in. including mat (40.6 × 50.8 cm); image: 7 × 9¼ in. (17.8 × 23.5 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Stockholm
This 18th-century copper plate engraving depicts Potatow, a Tahitian chief, as represented in European print culture during the period of Pacific exploration. Portraits of Tahitian leaders circulated through voyage accounts and related publications, shaping how Polynesian chiefly authority was presented to European audiences. The work belongs to the broader body of historical Pacific engravings connected to Tahiti and the Society Islands.
The portrait format focuses attention on the figure rather than on a landscape or ceremonial scene. Copper plate engraving allowed for controlled line work in the face, hair, clothing, and surrounding tonal detail. As a historical print, it records both an 18th-century European image of Tahitian leadership and the printmaking tradition through which Pacific subjects were collected and studied.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
18th century
Copper plate engraving
16 × 20 in. including mat (40.6 × 50.8 cm); image: 7 × 9¼ in. (17.8 × 23.5 cm)
Provenance: Private collection, Stockholm
This 18th-century copper plate engraving depicts Potatow, a Tahitian chief, as represented in European print culture during the period of Pacific exploration. Portraits of Tahitian leaders circulated through voyage accounts and related publications, shaping how Polynesian chiefly authority was presented to European audiences. The work belongs to the broader body of historical Pacific engravings connected to Tahiti and the Society Islands.
The portrait format focuses attention on the figure rather than on a landscape or ceremonial scene. Copper plate engraving allowed for controlled line work in the face, hair, clothing, and surrounding tonal detail. As a historical print, it records both an 18th-century European image of Tahitian leadership and the printmaking tradition through which Pacific subjects were collected and studied.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
