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Koradin presented to Benmaacoro (Alzonde et Koradin, t. 1, ch. 12, 1799)

Notice n°1 sur 2 Notice suivante

Date :
Between 1798 and 1799
Type of image :
Gravure sur cuivre
P.o.gall. 47-1/2
Signed work
Legend

Description

Koradin [Sainville] has just been captured by savages from the kingdom of Butua. He is led naked before the kingdom's prince, Benmaacoro, who refrains from eating him. Benmaacoro wishes to keep him so that in the future he can replace his governor, the aging Portuguese Delsinto [Sarmiento].

Aside from the names, the text in this edition repeats Sade's verbatim:

[we] were ushered [into the room] where the monarch stood. We saw him elevated at the back of this room, in a tier, half-reclining on cushions of leaves, placed on mats very-artistically worked; he was surrounded by about thirty girls, much younger than those I had seen perform military functions. Some were still in their infancy, most of them between twelve and sixteen. Opposite the throne was an altar three feet high, on which was an idol, representing a horrible figure, half man, half serpent, with the mammary glands of a woman, and the horns of a goat; it was stained with blood. Such was the God of the land; on the steps of the altar... the most dreadful spectacle soon presented itself to my eyes. The prince had just made a human sacrifice; the place where I found him, was his temple, and the recently immolated victims, were still palpitating at the feet of the idol... The macerations with which the bodies of these unfortunate hosts were still covered... the blood that trickled down on all sides... these heads separated from the trunks..., finished freezing my senses... I shuddered with horror. (Sade, Aline et Valcour, Paris, Gallimard, coll. "Bibliothèque de la Pléiade", 1990, XXXV, p. 556).

History :
  1. Signed below the image: "Texier. deleni. et Sculp.".
    Image caption: "And he told Delsinto that he found me too | thin to be eaten."
Textual Sources :
Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, marquis de (1740-1814)

Technical Data

Notice #025466

Image HD

Image editing :
Image web
Image Origin :
Bibliothèque numérique de Bavière / Bibliotheks Verbund Bayern (http://digital.bib-bvb.de)