Chinese Puppet Show and Rope Dancers, Antique Steel Engraving, 1859
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1859
Mapmaker / artist
Not named on the sheet
Publisher
Furne et Cie, Paris
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
26.5 × 16.5 cm (10.4 × 6.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-11494-1
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
Light handling wear to the bottom right corner; minor nicks along the right edge. Even age toning, soiled along all four edges. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin. Faint water stain at the top.
About this sheet
An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, with two scenes of street entertainment in China, captioned "MARIONETTES" and "DANSEURS DE CORDE". In the upper vignette a tall curtained puppet booth stands in the open air, with two puppets performing in the small stage opening at the top. A man on the left lifts a child onto his shoulders, a man with a basket watches beside him, another crawls on hands and knees at the foot of the curtain, and two men in caps and long coats stand on the right. In the lower vignette a performer walks a rope strung between two tripods of poles before a crowd, while in the foreground a peddler with a basket on his back carries poles hung with toy figures and a butterfly, surrounded by children. A building with upturned eaves closes the scene on the right.
The captions translate as Puppets and Rope dancers. The publisher's line at the foot reads "Publié par Furne, Paris" (Published by Furne, Paris). No printer's line is engraved on this plate. A faint signature at the lower left of the lower image is lost in the shading and cannot be read, and the captions name no artist or engraver. The captions do not name the country; the dress, the queues and the architecture place the scenes in China.
It was issued in Voyage en Asie et en Afrique, written by MM. Eyriès and Alfred Jacobs and published in Paris in 1859 by Furne et Cie, éditeurs, 45 rue Saint-André-des-Arts. The book forms part of the Histoire générale des voyages of Dumont d'Urville, d'Orbigny, Eyriès and A. Jacobs, which presented the voyages and travels of the period to French readers, with plates engraved on steel and printed on separate leaves.
Scenes of everyday amusements make a lively companion to the architectural views in the same book, and the plate suits a study or a collection on China or the history of popular entertainment.
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.
