China, SEVEN STAR CRAGS MOUNTAINS LAKE Zhaoqing CITY ~ 1842 Art Print Engraving

Description: TSEIH-SING-YEN OR THE SEVEN STAR MOUNTAINSArtist: Thomas Allom ____________ Engraver: T. A. Prior Note: the title in the table above is printed below the engraving AN ANTIQUE STEEL ENGRAVING MADE IN THE EARLY 1840s !! ITEM IS OVER 150 YEARS OLD! VERY OLD WORLD! INCREDIBLE DETAIL! FROM THE ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: In all the romantic region of the seventy-two peaks that occupy the western district of Kuang-tung, the locality of "The Seven-star mountains' is not merely the most extraordinary, but also the most illustrative of provincial scenery and agrarian habits. Its geological structure must strike the most cursory observer, its broken and varied forms gratify exemplification of the rural occupations of the southern Chmamen. In the revolution of events, the low lands, that now lie between these isolated rocks, were probably beneath the waters of the sea, and the alluvial character of the soil favours the idea of their aqueous origin. The detached masses, that rise up so abruptly in the middle give a naiae and peculiarity to the landscape, aye of secondary limestone, worn grotesque and cavernous forms' either by the abrasion of the weather, or former action of the waves. In the distance stands the Woo-fung-shih, or five-peaked mountain, attaining a height of five thousand feet, and solely of granitic formation. Every ledge, and rock-terrace, and crowning summit of these insulated hills, is reduced by industry to complete submission, and hess exchanged a surface ouee as sterile as their aspect, for a productive and remunerating soil. In some places the disintegrated rock has supplied a meagre soil, in which the tea-plant flourishes with an exuberance superior to that which richer loam imparts; in other cases, the deep clay from the valley has been carried up and laid on the bare rock, in depth sufficient for the purposes of cultivation. There cannot be a more interesting evidence of the dense occupation of the surface, and the indefatigable industry of its cultivators, than the happy cottages that adorn the steep sides and summits of "The Seven Stars," and the mulberry-trees and tea-plantations that luxuriate around them. The poorer portion, and the latest candidates for existence, being pushed from the crowded area of the plain, were obliged to seek independence amidst the mountains; and the lessons of labour learned from their ancestors were instrumental is securing for them homes as enviable and happy. The, conical mountains that rise so majestically above the rich plain of the Tseih- sing-yen, include numerous scenes, celebrated amongst the Chinese for their beauty and sublimity. From the Five Peaks a cascade descends so majestically, that at the interval of a mile the fall resembles one vast curtain of glass; while the thundering sound with which it reaches the bed of the river is heard at the distance of several leagues. The source of this picturesque torrent is situated in a circular hollow, entirely surrounded and overhung by four lofty mountains, densely clothed with wood to their highest peaks. The inhabitants call it "The Hollow of the rich Grove," and the peaks above it are distinguished, more pairio, by the most fanciful, quaint, and significant epithets. One is, the Phoenix Eyrie; another, the Jasper Stand; a third, the Terrace of Smoke and Vapour; while the sylphs of the mountain frequent r' he Cloudy Road." A singular cataract rolls down the front of the Cloudy mountain, conspicuous as well for its loud and awful sounds in falling, as for the triple tides in which it tumbles. The instruction conveyed by the accompanying illustration is not limited to mere picturesque, although faithful delineation; it comprehends, also, some interesting representations of the rural occupations of the people. Much attention is evidently bestowed on the culture of the calabash, which is induced to creep along a horizontal trellis, supported by rude pillars about seven feet in height, rendering both the blossoms and the fruit easily tended by the cultivator. This plant, the lagenia vulgaris of botanists, is held in much estimation by the Chinese; the pulp being edible, is extracted, boiled in vinegar, mixed with rice and flesh, and formed into a pudding. The domestic usefulness of the gourd does not cease here, the shell generally serving as a pudding-dish for the favourite mixture, after which it is laid up amongst the household utensils to serve as a drinking-cup. There are other uses also to which the calabash husk is applied, less valuable but equally ingenious, such as to disguise the fowler's head while engaged in catching aquatic birds. Beyond the gourd-frame, numbers are seen actively employed in the watery rice-grounds, and farther still appear two brandies of the Pearl Canal, whose waters answer the double purpose of transport and irrigation. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Thomas Allom (1804-1872) was a Topographical Illustrator and Architect. He was born in London, England and in 1819 he was apprenticed to the architect Francis Goodwin. He produced designs for buildings, churches, workhouses and a military asylum in London and carried them out himself as well as working with the architect Sir Charles Barry on numerous projects. He found time to produce an enormous number of views, and like his contemporary William Henry Bartlett, illustrated places rather than people or still life. Allom was a founder member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He died at the age of 68 in Barnes, London, England. Though he traveled widely in the course of his work, Allom produced his drawings of China, probably his most successful series, by merely crossing the road from the house in Hart Street to the British Museum. It was obviously an economical solution for his publisher, who had managed to convince himself that 'Having dwelt in "the land of the cypress and myrtle", Mr. Allom's talents were fully matured for the faithful delineation of Oriental scenery. His designs were based entirely on the work of earlier artists who had traveled in China, and although he has been justifiably criticised for failure in some instances to acknowledge the original sketches, Allom displays considerable resourcefulness and ingenuity in the way he borrowed and gathered his material from them. Acknowledgement was made to three amateurs, eight of the plates to Lieutenant Frederick White R.M., fourteen to Captain Stoddart, R.N. and two to R. Varnham (who was the son of a tea planter and a pupil of George Chinnery (1774-1852). Nine designs are taken entirely or partially from Sketches of China and the Chinese (1842) by August Borget (1808-1877)," which had been published in England the previous year. He made neat pencil sketches from an album of Chinese landscapes water colours by anonymous Chinese artists that he then turned into fourteen designs. "Another group are based on a set of anonymous drawings that show the silk manufacturing process. Allom made particularly ingenious use of the drawings of William Alexander (1767-1818). Having first traced over a number of Alexander's watercolors in the British Museum (a practice which would certainly be frowned upon today) he used these tracings' either in part or combination in about twenty of his designs. But he never uses exactly the same scene as Alexander without altering the viewpoint or changing the details, his knowledge of perspective enabling him 'to walk round' a view of a building as in his Western Gates of Peking, which takes a viewpoint to the other side of the river. He uses background to Alexander's more peaceful seascape of 1794, The Forts of Anunghoi saluting the 'Lion' in the Bocca Tigris, and updates it to an event sketched by White during the First Opium War of 1841 when the Imogene and Andromache under Lord Napier forced a passage through the straits. Two of Alexander's drawings are sometimes combined - his Chinamen playing 'Shitticock' (sic) are placed by Allom in front of the Pagoda of Lin-ching-shih taken from another Alexander drawing. The prints were a welcome addition to Fisher's series and became the best known source on the subject of China. Until the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 China had been almost totally inaccessible to the European traveller but the first Opium War had created a new sort of interest. The admiration of the 18th and early 19th centuries for Chinese culture and decoration was replaced by a more critical and inquiring attitude. Until photography gave a more accurate picture, a great many people's perception of China and the Chinese people was probably influenced by Allom's idealised images. An interesting use of these, on the ceramic pot lids produced by F. & R. Pratt and Co. throughout the second half of the 19th century, demonstrate how Allom's images, themselves derived from such a variety of sources, became in turn a design source for other ornamental applications. Because of their decorative appeal wide use is still made of reproductions of these illustrations. SIZE: Image size is 5 inches by 7 1/2 inches. Print size is 7 inches by 10 inches. CONDITION: Condition is excellent. Bright and clean. Blank on reverse. SHIPPING: Buyers to pay shipping/handling, domestic orders receives priority mail, international orders receive regular mail. We pack properly to protect your item! Please note: the terms used in our auctions for engraving, heliogravure, lithograph, print, plate, photogravure etc. are ALL prints on paper, NOT blocks of steel or wood. "ENGRAVINGS", the term commonly used for these paper prints, were the most common method in the 1700s and 1800s for illustrating old books, and these paper prints or "engravings" were inserted into the book with a tissue guard frontis, usually on much thicker quality rag stock paper, although many were also printed and issued as loose stand alone prints. So this auction is for an antique paper print(s), probably from an old book, of very high quality and usually on very thick rag stock paper. EXTREMELY RARE IN THIS EXCELLENT CONDITION!

Price: 34.99 USD

Location: New Providence, New Jersey

End Time: 2024-11-20T16:25:03.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7.95 USD