Plate 20: Six Different Borders (plate 2 of 2), from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Twentieth 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 consists of three designs for borders (out of six, the other half presented in the previous plate) with orientalist designs. The first border, on the upper left, consists of a cartouche framed by scrolling motifs, flanked to the sides by two stylized flowers, and above by a bundle of scrolling leaves. On the left, there the bundle begins, are thin branches with small leaves and two stylized flowers, and a small bird perched on them. On the right, at the end of the scrolling leaves, is a vase, holding a thin bundle with flowers and leaves; two small bells hang from the sides of the scrolling leaves on which the vase stands.
The second border, on the upper right, consists of a cartouche with a semi-abstract rosette on the center, surrounded by thin scrolling motifs and stylized flowers. On its upper part, a Chinese man reclines on the scrolling motigs, while another, on the left, stands on them holding onto the scrolls coming from the left edge of the border.
The last border, on the lower part of the sheet, consists of a cartouche, on the center, with a small landscape with floating houses and sailboats, framed by thin scrolling motifs, and flanked above by large, stylized flowers and scrolls. On the right, another cartouche, of smaller size, encloses a stylized leaf, and is flanked above by a basket with a bundle of stylized roses and leaves. On the left, a group of scrolling motifs make up a platform on which a Chinese man is seated. The two different designs at the sides of the central cartouche might be intended as alternative options for the presentation of the final design.
