Tattoos: From Ancient Ritual to Celebrity Culture
Tattooing, a practice that has existed worldwide since prehistoric eras, entails the insertion of pigment beneath the skin for aesthetic or ceremonial reasons. The word 'tattoo' originates from the Samoan term 'tatau.' In ancient times, tools such as thorns and fish bones were utilized, while pigments were derived from soot and botanical extracts. The oldest known evidence of tattooing is from Japan, dating back to 5000 BCE. Ötzi the Iceman, who lived around 3300 BCE, possessed more than 50 tattoos. Additionally, tattoos were found on mummies from Egypt dating to 2000 BCE. In 1565, French sailors captured a tattooed Inuit woman, and in 1691, William Dampier introduced the tattooed Filipino Jeoly to London, where he succumbed to smallpox in 1692. Exhibitions featuring tattoos include the Museum of Croydon's 'Beyond Skin' and the Wellcome Collection's 300 tattoo fragments.
Key facts
- Tattooing dates back to 5000 BCE in Japan.
- Ötzi the Iceman had over 50 tattoos from 3300 BCE.
- The word 'tattoo' derives from Samoan 'tatau'.
- In 1691, William Dampier brought Jeoly to London for display.
- Maud Stevens Wagner was the first female tattoo artist in the US.
- Angelina Jolie has a Thai tiger tattoo inked traditionally.
- Shelley Jackson's 'Ineradicable Stain' involves over 2,000 volunteers.
- The Wellcome Collection has over 300 tattoo fragments.
Entities
Artists
- Ötzi the Iceman
- James Cook
- William Dampier
- Jeoly
- Prince Giolo
- Daniel Defoe
- Markus Schleinzer
- Lady Viola
- Ethel Martin
- Maud Stevens Wagner
- David Beckham
- Victoria Beckham
- Alyssa Milano
- Nicole Richie
- Megan Fox
- Angelina Jolie
- Rihanna
- Selena Gomez
- Albrecht Dürer
- Janis Joplin
- Lyle Tuttle
- Guy Pearce
- Robert Mitchum
- Charles Laughton
- Roald Dahl
- Derek Jacobi
- Ray Bradbury
- Rod Steiger
- Shelley Jackson
- Clive Hicks-Jenkins
- Hokusai
- Vincent van Gogh
- Gustav Klimt
- Pablo Picasso
- Ilse Koch
- Kip Fulbeck
- Geoff Ostling
- Sandra Ann Vita Minchin
- Jan Davidszoon de Heem
Institutions
- Wellcome Collection
- British Museum
- National Museum of Antiquities
- South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology
- Pitt Rivers Museum
- University of Oxford
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Alaska's Digital Archive
- State Library of New South Wales
- ArtBlart
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Albertina Museum
- Texas State Historical Association
- British Film Institute
- Museum of Croydon
- Museum of London
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Musée du Quai Branly
- Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
- Field Museum
- Immigration Museum at Museums Victoria
- Amsterdam Tattoo Museum
- National Museum of Australia
- Mauritshuis
- BBC
Locations
- Japan
- Austro-Italian border
- Bolzano
- Italy
- Egypt
- Leiden
- Netherlands
- London
- UK
- Oxford
- New Zealand
- Antwerp
- Canada
- Baffin Island
- Little Diomede Islands
- Fairbanks
- ALK
- USA
- Sydney
- Australia
- Vienna
- Austria
- New York
- NY
- Richmond
- VA
- Paris
- France
- Chicago
- IL
- The Hague
- Wales