A Malefactor Conducted to Execution, Antique China Print, 1801
€ 440
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1801
Mapmaker / artist
J. Dadley after Pu Qua, for George Henry Mason
Publisher
W. Miller, Old Bond Street, London
Technique
Stipple Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
24.9 × 34.5 cm (9.8 × 13.6 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14488-12
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
The bottom edge is uneven in one place. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the left and right edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the top left corner.
About this sheet
This is an original antique hand colored print of a Chinese punishment, a stipple engraving by J. Dadley for George Henry Mason's The Punishments of China. A condemned man walks between two executioners who carry drawn swords, a tall board of Chinese characters fixed upright at his back announcing the sentence. The three figures are hand colored in blue, red and buff against bare paper. The sheet is trimmed close at the foot, and neither a plate number nor the imprint is present.
The plate belongs to The Punishments of China, Illustrated by Twenty Two Engravings, with Explanations in English and French, by George Henry Mason, printed for W. Miller of Old Bond Street in London in 1801. Mason had the original drawings made at Canton by the local artist known as Pu Qua, and J. Dadley engraved them in stipple for the London edition.
The proclamation board carried the crime and the sentence so that the crowd could read them as the procession passed, and it is the detail that tells the story of this plate at a glance. The sheet is mounted and carries its letterpress leaf on the verso, and it frames well in plain dark wood for a study, a library or a hallway.
The bottom edge is uneven in one place. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the left and right edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the top left corner.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
