In an open, outdoor space, two couples dance to music performed by the two men at the left. One musician appears to play a percussion instrument, while the other seems to play a string instrument. The dancing women are bare-breasted, and some of their facial features correspond to racist stereotypes, particularly in the case of the woman closest to the right. On the left, a third woman sits underneath a pole that supports a straw roof. Some pieces of tropical fruit lie on the ground near her feet. Batugue, a type of dance still practiced today, is an Afro-Brazilian circle dance., Plate in Voyage pittoresque dans le deux Ameriques (A Paris : Chez L. Tenr'e, libraire-éditeur, rue de Paon, 1; et chez Henri Dupuy, rue de la Monnaie, 11., M DCCC XXXVI. [1836]), p. 210., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
Date
[1836]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1836 Orbi 6335.F p 210, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2749
