Plate 6: Mandarin & Faquir, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"

Sixth 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 represents a Faquir man and a Mandarin woman. On the left, the Mandarin man wears a jacket with three-quarter wide sleeves with a pattern of stylized flowers, over a shirt with long tight sleevesand short, wide trousers with lozenges and star motifs. He has a queue on his head, and he has a long, pointed beard. He is barefoot and holds a branch as cane on his hand.

On the right, the Mandarin woman wears a long-sleeved, long robe with semi-abstract rosettes and lozenges, with a wide collar with stylized flowers and scrolling leaves, and a waistband below the bustline, from which hangs a sort of stomacher with chevron stripes. On her head she wears a sort of cap with a motif of stylized leaves. Her fingernails are long.