Hoe de Hottentotten hunne schapen door de rook jagen - Jan Caspar Philips

An eighteenth-century Dutch engraving by Jan Caspar Philips depicting the pastoral practices of the Khoikhoi people in Southern Africa.

This etching, titled 'Hoe de Hottentotten hunne schapen door de rook jagen' (How the Hottentots drive their sheep through the smoke), is a work by the Dutch engraver Jan Caspar Philips. Produced in the mid-eighteenth century, the print appeared in publications documenting global cultures and colonial observations of the era. It depicts a specific pastoral practice attributed to the Khoikhoi people of Southern Africa.

The composition is divided into two distinct zones. In the foreground, figures are shown engaged in domestic tasks, including the preparation of food and the handling of livestock. The figures are rendered with the precise, linear style characteristic of eighteenth-century copperplate engravings. To the right, a group of individuals is depicted interacting with a sheep, while others gather around a vessel. In the background, a larger group is shown driving animals through a plume of smoke, a technique historically documented by European travellers to the Cape of Good Hope.

Philips, active in Amsterdam, was a prolific illustrator who contributed to various travelogues and encyclopaedic works. His approach reflects the European fascination with non-European societies during the Enlightenment period. The work provides a window into how these cultures were interpreted and visualised for a Dutch audience. The technical execution relies on fine cross-hatching to create depth and texture, particularly in the rendering of the smoke and the surrounding vegetation. The print is framed by a simple border, typical of book illustrations from this period, and includes a descriptive caption at the base. As a historical document, it captures the intersection of colonial observation and the artistic conventions of the Dutch Republic, offering a perspective on the ethnographic records of the eighteenth century.