Habit of a Woman of East India in 1581

by Thomas Jefferys

The dramatic engraving, made famous through the work of cartographer and engraver Thomas Jefferys of the eighteenth century, presents an intriguing if idealized view of fashion in the East Indies of the latter sixteenth century from a European perspective.

Based on earlier descriptions in Renaissance travel accounts, the print shows the “Habit” (costume) of a woman from the East Indian archipelago or coastlands. It focuses on the combination of local fabrics along with the initial impact of the Age of Discovery.