The “First Encounters: Chief Saturiba and Florida’s Timucua People” exhibition opened Wednesday night at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. Touted as the earliest comprehensive set of visual images of Native Americans in Florida, the display showcased documents, maps, engravings and prints made from watercolors printed in 1564.
The collection is based largely on the private collection of attorney Michael Fisher of Fisher, Tousey, Leas & Ball and his wife Linda, a FCCJ humanities professor.
“Collecting early new world maps and images has given us a lot of pleasure,” said Michael Fisher.
French Huguenots, who settled briefly in the Fort Caroline area, recorded their experiences in writings and illustrations.
“This is a very important part of world history and it all happened right here in Jacksonville,” said Maarten van de Guchte, the museum’s director.
Former U.S. Rep. Charles Bennett gave a talk — Reflections on Fort Caroline: The French and the Timucua in Florida — at the reception.
The exhibition runs through May 26.