[Sainson, Louis Auguste de], b 1800 :Mourning scene in New Zealand. [London, 1836?]

Shows the dead chief wrapped in a blanket and with feathers in his hair, in a sitting position resting against a carved post. In the right foreground, a woman in a wrap skirt holds her hands above her covered head in a grieving gesture. Her hair is covered by a tall headpiece, as is that of the woman seated beyond her, holding aloft a shell with which she has cut her breasts. In front of the pole is a row of four skulls and long bones on the ground. In the background a crowd of women kneel with bowed heads or open arms. A man with feathers in his hair fires a rifle. In the right background is a dwelling with roundarched facade and a low doorway.

This print is similar to Louis de Sainson's 1834 engraving "Scene of mourning in New Zealand" ("Scene de deuil a la Nouvelle Zelande"). There are also similarities to Sainson's 1834 engraving "Funerailles d'un ariki". See Dumont d'Urville's "Voyage pittoresque autour du monde ..." (Paris, 1834) at qR 910.8 DUM Voya. See also "A New Zealand chief lying in state ...", plate 10 in "Illustrations of missionary scenes" (Mayence, Joseph Scholz [1856], vol. 1.

Other Titles - Scene de deuil a la Nouvelle-Zelande

Other Titles - Funerailles d'un Ariki

Inscriptions: Recto - beneath image - [Title]

Quantity: 1 colour art print(s).

Physical Description: Engraving, hand-coloured on sheet, 95 x 142 mm.