Gold Coast, from the playing cards "Jeu de la Géographie" 1644

This playing card, "Gold Coast", was made by Stefano della Bella in the mid-17th century using etching, a printmaking technique that democratized image production. An etcher covers a metal plate with a waxy ground, then scratches an image into the ground with a needle. The plate is then bathed in acid, which bites into the metal where it has been exposed. Here, the figure of an indigenous person is presented for European consumption, complete with feather headdress and skirt. The etched lines give the figure a delicate appearance, yet the card itself speaks to a anything but delicate history: the brutal economics of colonialism. The text on the card notes that the depicted region is “sterile, but yields a quantity of gold.” The card conflates the landscape with its inhabitants, suggesting that the "Gold Coast" is a kind of mother lode to be extracted and consumed. This speaks volumes about the relationship between image making, the commodification of land and people, and the aesthetics of power.