Plate 44: Terminary, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"
Etched and published by Matthias Darly British
Artist and publisher George Edwards British
Not on view
Plate 44 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 terminary. On the center, a rail with an abstract geometric pattern is flanked above by a robed man, seated on a bundle of leaves, under a canopy with leaves that hangs from the ceiling of the structure. At the sides, two columns separate this central section from two tall fences, also with abstract geometric patterns, each ending on a column with a standing statuette under a canopy of stylized, scrolling leaves. The ceiling, on the center, is made up of tiers of scrolling leaves, flanked above by a small, with a fence with geometric patterns.
