Plate 30: Trade, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Plate number 30 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 two Chinese men trading flowers and produce. On the left, a man stands, wearing a robe with a floral pattern, a scallop-edged headdress, slippers, long fingernails, and mustache, stands behind a table with a trunk (?) with marble panels, on which stand a vase and a bowl with flowers, leaves, and produce. On the right, another man, wearing a jacket and trousers, both with floral motifs, and slippers, points towards the sky with his left hand, while looking at the products on the table. Two birds fly above the flowers, between the heads of the two men.
