Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:
- Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
- Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
- Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.
The Sacrifice of Abel (1576)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
An Aztec praying God (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, VI
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Aztec Human Sacrifice (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, II
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Aztec Idol (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, II
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Aztec Rite in front an Idol (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, II
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Aztec Sacrifice in front of a Pyramid (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, IX
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Aztec sacrificing an Heart (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, II
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Human sacrifice (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, II
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Human Sacrifice (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, I
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Moctezuma makes a Human Sacrifice to have a Prediction (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, XII
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Ritual Sacrifice to an Aztec God (1577)
from: Historia general de las cosas de nueva España, I
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. m.p. 220, Firenze
Hercules sacrificing Busiris (king of Egypt) (16th Century)
Bibliothèque municipale, Lyon
Sacrifce of Isaac [1550 - 1599]
from: Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, Fondo Corsini; volume 34I1
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Goat and she-goat, turned to right, adorned for sacrifice (1626-1704)
from: Ohsson, Ignace Mouradja d', Tableau général de l'Empire othoman, Paris, Didot, 1787-1820, vol. 2
Wikimedia
Sacrifice to Bacchus [1501 - 1525]
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The sacrifice of a ram (1575)
from: Antoine Lafréry, Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, Roma 1575 ca.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York