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Photo, Print, Drawing Malaysian Tapir.

About this Item

Title

  • Malaysian Tapir.

Summary

  • This depiction of Tapirus indicus (the Malaysian or Asian tapir) is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in 1986 in the National Library of South Africa. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi people, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The artist has not been identified. He most likely was a Dutchman, born in the 17th century, who was attached in some capacity to the Dutch East India Company and possibly en route to the Dutch East Indies or on his way back to the Netherlands when he visited the Cape. Evidence suggests that the drawings were made no later than 1713, and possibly a good deal earlier. Most of the drawings have annotations, in Dutch, which were made by another person after 1730. The notation on this drawing reads: "Attap [?]. This animal cries like a hartebeest. This animal is found in the water as well as on land." The artist would have seen the tapir in Asia.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1700.

Headings

  • -  Malaysia
  • -  1700
  • -  Tapirs

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Presented as plate 23 in The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope: Seventeenth-century drawings in the South African Library / text by Andrew B. Smith, from which this description is adapted. Number 6252 of a set: INIL 6250-6264."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 drawing : grey wash, traces of watercolor on paper ; 10 x 27 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of South Africa.
  • -  Content in Dutch.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670565

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Malaysian Tapir. Malaysia, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670565/.

APA citation style:

(1700) Malaysian Tapir. Malaysia, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670565/.

MLA citation style:

Malaysian Tapir. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670565/>.