Plate 31: Trade, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"

Plate number 31 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 three Chinese men trading. One of them, wearing a pointed straw hat and long-sleeved, long robe with slippers, stands behind a table with marble plaques, with a basket of fruits and small squared pieces on it. To the right, another man, with jacket and trousers, slippers, a queue and mustache, stands looking at the man with the straw hat, extending the left hand towards the fruits in the basket. A third man approaches them from the left, also wearing a robe, trousers and queue, and carrying a basket with fruits on his hands.