Plate 76: Bed, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Plate 76 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 bed, with a design with scrolling motifs, stars, and a seated Buddha (?) with a straw hat on the head, and columns with variations of scrolling motifs on the front, and a canopy with the shape of Chinese ceilings, with long, scrolling tips, and a fence on top. A bell hangs from the left edge of the canopy. Under the ceiling is a frieze with undulating edges, on the left made up of scrolling leaves and with bunches of foliage, and on the right with fringed edge, and C-scrolls with hanging bells, separated by stylized flames.
