Plate 33: Procession, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Plate 33 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 six different components of a procession, arranged in two horizontal rows with three steps each. On the first row are four men, with short trousers, jackets, and queues, holding a baldaquin for a fifth man, wearing long hair under a pointed hat, a mustache, and long robe, and holding a straw fan in the left hand; two yound men with jackets, shorts, slippers, and queues, each holding a flag with Chinese inscriptions; and two young men with straw hats, jackets and shorts, armed with swords, shields, and an axe.
On the second row are a couple of men with straw hats, mustaches, and long robes, in front of a third man, with a short robe and short hair, who holds a parasole above them; a young man with a straw hat, jacket and shorts, armed with a sword and a shield; and two boys, with loose jackets and trousers, and queues, carrying bowls with fruits in their arms.
