China, GOLDEN BUDDHIST JINSHAN TEMPLE PARK ZHENGIANG ~ 1842 Art Print Engraving

Description: MOUTH OF THE RIVER CHIN-KEANG Artist: Thomas Allom ____________ Engraver: J. Sands 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: Several tributaries discharge their waters into the Yang-tse-kiang in the vicinity of the Golden Island, and, by their combined effects, have there given to the channel of that nohle river all the characters of a vast land-locked bay. This advantage Is fully appreciated by native navigators, who not only make this expansion a regular halting- place, but in many instances the terminus of their voyage, by transhipping their freights for distant places, and returning for others. Independently, however, of the beauty of river scenery, which is here so conspicuous that the Golden Island was once the favourite retreat of royalty, exclusive of the concurrent advantages which the locality affords as a commercial entrepot, the embouchure of the Chin-keang is a place of the utmost consequence to the internal security of the empire. It is the spot where the advance of a hostile fleet should be resisted: it is the key of the Imperial canal, for, a few powerful war-steamers anchored here, could effectually blockade the approach to Peking by the canal-to Nanking, by the Yang-tse-kiang. The peaceful and passive policy of China has not hitherto felt it necessary to fortify this passage of the river, but possibly the experience of recent events may humble their pride, or correct their prejudices, in whichever of those evil qualities the error may have its source. A pier or jetty raised on piles, and extending for several hundred yards from the great river, serves as a loading and a landing place for junks of burden; and stores for the deposit of merchandise, either for reshipment or immediate sale, stand in the very waters that the base of the steep cliffs. A lofty rock, that rises like the frustum of a cone shelters the official residences of the little port, is broken into picturesque forms, beautifully tinted by the masses of lichens that shade its deep fissures, and by the bright foliage of the pine that waves over it. An assemblage of glowing white houses on the summit, secure apparently of surprise, constitutes a sort of Tartar capitol, in which a garrison is stationed for the defence of the large cities in the surrounding district, and for the conservation of the river. A pathway, cut in the rock, encircles it like the spiral staircase of a campanile, but the actual length of the ascent is so considerable, that few others than the residents of the citadel encounter it. The surface of the rock is both spacious, and fertile enough, to afford fruits and vegetables to its occupants; and pines, and cypress trees, flourish here in numbers large enough to form a perfect shelter against the winds. From the highest point of the cliff that faces the north, a magnificent panorama is presented to the view. Immediately beneath is seen the city of Chin-keang with its quay and shipping, and fishing-boats arriving and departing; a little further, the great river having extended to a width of two miles, is descried winding majestically through the land for many a lie in the centre, and where it is richest, the Golden Island, clothed with the most luxuriant foliage, through which pagodas and temples occasionally peep, rises gracefully from the silvery surface, and immediately opposite is observed the opening of the Imperial canal into the bav of Chin-keang. A mountain-chain, composed entirely of granite, extends along the north bank of the river, as far as the ken can reach, and closes, in that direction, this amazing picture. There is no passage on the river more conspicuous by the presence and concentration of great and striking features-none more eminently beautiful and animated by trade-none of so much importance to the empire when threatened with invasion by any Christian power. 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: 19.99 USD

Location: New Providence, New Jersey

End Time: 2025-02-01T20:19:12.000Z

Shipping Cost: 7.95 USD