Plate 6: Mandarin & Faquir, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Sixth plate of 'A New Book of Chinese Designs', consisting of a title page, index, and 120 plates, etched and published in 1754 by the British caricaturist, printseller and ornamental engraver Matthew Darly, in collaboration with George Edwards. The book consists of a variety of ornamental and costume designs of Chinese inspiration, some of them copies of the original works (including the title).
This plate represents a Faquir man and a Mandarin woman. On the left, the Mandarin man wears a jacket with three-quarter wide sleeves with a pattern of stylized flowers, over a shirt with long tight sleevesand short, wide trousers with lozenges and star motifs. He has a queue on his head, and he has a long, pointed beard. He is barefoot and holds a branch as cane on his hand.
On the right, the Mandarin woman wears a long-sleeved, long robe with semi-abstract rosettes and lozenges, with a wide collar with stylized flowers and scrolling leaves, and a waistband below the bustline, from which hangs a sort of stomacher with chevron stripes. On her head she wears a sort of cap with a motif of stylized leaves. Her fingernails are long.
