Plate 58: Hermitage, from "A New Book of Chinese Designs"

Plate 58 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 hermitage, made up of a central cylindrical chamber with an open entrance, flanked to the sides by two chambers with terraces, and with a conical straw ceiling, flanked above by a small canopy with geometric patterns and a ceiling with scrolling tips. The chamber on the left has a closed window and ceiling with scrolling tips, and the terrace around it is fenced by a rail with a geometric pattern. The chamber on the right has open windows, with curtains that are being pulled up by a man in the chamber, and ceiling with scrolling tips; the terrace is fenced by a rail with a rectangular panel of marble.