Plate 88: Canopy, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Plate 88 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 consists of a design for a canopy, with a semi-abstract crown on the top, formed by thin, scrolling branches with small leaves and interlacing motifs, above a ceiling with scrolling edges, with two hanging bells. Below it is a frieze with panels with geometric motifs of alternating shapes, framed above by a strip of scales, and below by trefoils. Under the canopy is a rolled-up curtain with loose edges at the sides, at the front of which two tassels hang.
