Habit of a Samoyede Woman and Child Subject to Russia in 1768

The copperplate engraving made in 1768 by the celebrated map-maker Thomas Jefferys provides a rare 18th century ethnographic perspective on the Samoyed people of northern Russia.

Illustrates a woman and child of the Samoyede tribe, who are wrapped in the practical fur clothing that is required to endure in the harsh Siberian tundra. In contrast to the idealized renderings of European aristocracy produced around the same period, Jefferys emphasizes the functional nature of their traditional attire, called "habit." The solemn expression of the mother and the huddled posture of the child represent the enduring spirit of a society that has merged completely with the Arctic environment.