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 Circumcision of Christ (1620-1626)
from: France. Series: Vita Deiparae Virginis Mariae
1. Sacrifice and Bible (16th-18th Century) 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
The Triumph of Christ´s Sacrifice (1733 - 1735)
from: Rentz, H. Das christliche Jahr, oder, Die Episteln und Evangelien [...], Prag, Labaunischen Erben, 1733 - 1735
The Collection of Prints and Drawings, British Museum, London
Allegory of Triumph and Sacrifice [1520]
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Abraham's Sacrifice (1595)
from: Histoire du Coran ou Histoire des prophètes et des rois passés. Qisas al-anbiyyâ [Supplément Persan 1313, fol. 40]
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Preparation for a Suttee (1816)
British Library, London (http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/hinduism/sati/sati.html)
The Sacrifice of Polyxena (17th Century)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Scene of Animal Sacrifice (1668)
from: Der gantzen Welt Religionen oder Beschreibung aller Gottes- und Götzendienste wie auch Ketzereyen in Asia, Africa, America und Europa, Amsterdam, Joach. Nosch, 1668
Scene of idolatrous sacrifice (1668)
from: Der gantzen Welt Religionen oder Beschreibung aller Gottes- und Götzendienste wie auch Ketzereyen in Asia, Africa, America und Europa, Amsterdam, Joach. Nosch, 1668
Mars and Rhea Silvia [1617]
Liechtenstein Museum, Wien
Abbruciamento delle mogli vedove (1740-56)
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/hinduism/sati/sati.html
The Sacrifice of Lystra (1515)
Vatican Museum, Vatican
Sacrifice of a Pig [1547 - 1587]
RISD Museum, Providence
A bull offered in sacrifice to Jupiter (16th Century)
Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome
The Sacrifice of Iphigenia (1671)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston