Porzellana Kinkank, Kueý Chinkim Choâm, a Mogolian Princess, Plate 49
1710-1719
Elias Baeck’s satirical engraving presents a grotesque caricature of a 'Mughal Princess' named Porzellana Kinkank, framed by elaborate Baroque scrollwork and peeking onlookers. The central figure, with her exaggerated features and hunched posture, is accompanied by a German poem where she humorously introduces herself as a high-born lady—and chief cook of Lapland—displaced by bad luck. At the bottom, a small, caricatured vendor sits amidst his wares, likely a nod to the street sellers who distributed these popular prints, surrounded by smaller sketches that hint at a series of similar satirical portraits. This piece captures the early 18th-century European fascination with the 'Orient' and the exotic, twisting the craze for foreign cultures into a humorous, nonsensical spectacle.
- Technique
- Engraving