Image: The King of Cochin riding on an Elephant, attended by his Nairs

Description: This 16th century portrait is taken from a historical account by the Dutch traveler and historian Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1562-1611). In Western Europe, for many centuries, this portrait was one of the best known images of India. It shows the King of Cochin seated on his royal elephant attended by his Nair soldiers. Van Linschoten's images and accounts are still being used in many publications even after centuries. Hand coloring is done on the original copperplate engraving. Van Linschoten's account on Nairs whom he call as "Nayros" is as fearsome soldiers, serving the King of Cochin and armed at all times, many with "muskets as fine as any in Europe and which they know well how to use so that the Portugals have no advantage against them." Regarding these Nairs, Van Linschoten, in his commentary for this image notes that "Not any of them are married, nor may not marrie during their lives but they may freely lie with the Nayros daughters, or with any other that liketh them what women soever they bee even though they be a married women. When the Nayro hath a desire thereunto, hee entereth into a house where he thinketh good, and setteth his armes in the streete without the doore, and goeth in and despatcheth his businesse with the good wife or the daughter, the doore standing wide open, not fearing any man or husband..."]
Title: The King of Cochin riding on an Elephant, attended by his Nairs
Credit: 16th century Painting by Dutch traveler Jan Huyghen van Linschoten. Image URL Webpage with full details
Author: Jan Huyghen van Linschoten
Permission: This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less. You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Côte d'Ivoire has a general copyright term of 99 years and Honduras has 75 years, but they do implement the rule of the shorter term. Copyright may extend on works created by French who died for France in World War II (more information), Russians who served in the Eastern Front of World War II (known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) and posthumously rehabilitated victims of Soviet repressions (more information). This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain". This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details. Template:PD-Art template without license parameter: please specify why the underlying work is public domain in both the source country and the United States (Usage: Template:PD-Art, where parameter #1 can be PD-old-auto, PD-old-auto-1923, PD-old-auto-1996, PD-old-100 or similar. See Commons:Multi-license copyright tags for more information.)
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No