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Secondary sourcePaintingcirca 1839

Vasco da Gama's embassy to the Zamorin at Calicut

Maurício José do Carmo Sendim · circa 1839

A painting by Maurício José do Carmo Sendim, made around 1839, showing Gama's 1498 meeting with the Zamorin of Calicut.

Shows Gama at his 1498 meeting with the Zamorin, as imagined by a later painter, making him the subject of a scene about his voyage.

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Black and white lithograph of a seated ruler in a tall crown and white garments on a cushioned throne under a draped canopy. Richly dressed European man in plumed hat and cape gestures toward him while a kneeling attendant in a sash reaches forward. Crowds of onlookers stand around, and a table with a plate and a pitcher appear at left.
Maurício José do Carmo Sendim, Vasco da Gama dá a sua embaixada ao Samorim em Calicute, circa 1839. Black and white lithograph of the painting.

About this source

What it is

This is a painting by Maurício José do Carmo Sendim (1786-1870), dated around 1839. It shows Gama's 1498 embassy to the Zamorin, the ruler of Calicut. The image you see is a black and white lithograph of the painting, not the painting itself. It shows a seated ruler in a tall crown and white garments under a draped canopy, while a richly dressed European man in a plumed hat and cape gestures toward him. Crowds of onlookers stand around the scene.

Why it matters

The painting was made about 340 years after the meeting, so it shows how Portuguese artists of the 1830s imagined the encounter. It is a later depiction, not an eyewitness record. It reveals how Gama and the Zamorin were pictured for a nineteenth-century audience, and it reflects the Portuguese interest in celebrating the voyages to India.

Look closer

  • Which figure seems to hold power in this scene, and how does the artist show it?
  • Why would a painter make this scene about 340 years after it happened?
  • What does the image leave out about the people of Calicut and their own view of the meeting?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vasco da Gama on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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