Titelpagina voor: 'Hedendaagsche Historie van het Ryk des Groten Mogol, deel 4', 1770 1770

Reinier Vinkeles created this print in Amsterdam in 1770, as a frontispiece for a book on the Mughal Empire. The image presents us with an opportunity to consider the public role of art as an instrument of empire. Here, we see an imagined scene of Mughal life juxtaposed with European symbols of knowledge and authority. The figures in the foreground, presumably Mughal rulers, are set against a backdrop of pyramids and what might be the architecture of Delhi. Above, a classical allegorical figure trumpets fame while holding a mask, a symbol of theatre and representation. To the left, framed images suggest a European collection or museum display. This visual coding asserts a European gaze upon the East, framing it, classifying it, and ultimately, possessing it through representation. To understand this image better, one can delve into the archives of the Dutch East India Company and the intellectual history of the Enlightenment, noting how the era's pursuit of knowledge was often intertwined with colonial ambitions.