Maniere dont les Femmes se Brulent aux I…

C.18th engraving of the Indian Hindu ritual of Sati or suttee, in which a widow sacrificed herself by sitting atop her deceased husband’s funeral pyre or by been buried alive. The Muslim Mughals, banned the practice. From Denis Diderot’s, Encyclopaedia which was a monument in the history of European thought, undermining the ancien regime and heralding the French Revolution. It was a permanent source for all aspects of eighteenth century knowledge. It was edited by the brilliant Denis Diderot (1713-1784).

Provenance: Wigan Public Library (stamp)

References: Printing and the Mind of Man 200.