The Road of Pillars in China, Mountain Gorge, Antique Engraving, circa 1820

About this sheet

This antique engraving, The Road of Pillars in China, is an early nineteenth century London engraving, circa 1815 to 1830, showing a remarkable road carried on wooden pillars along the side of a rocky gorge. The plate is lettered "The road of pillars in China".

The scene shows a narrow trestle roadway supported on tall posts driven into the rock, winding across a mountain gorge above tumbling waterfalls, with fir trees clinging to the cliffs. Such roads recall the famous plank roads of western China, built along the sheer valley walls of Shaanxi and Sichuan, which were described with astonishment by early European travellers and missionaries and became a favourite subject in books of geography and wonders of the world.

No publisher's imprint or artist's name appears on the plate. The size, lettering and engraving style match the Thomas Kelly plates in this group, and it probably comes from one of the geographies or travel compilations issued in parts in London in the years around 1815 to 1830, though the publisher cannot be confirmed from the sheet. It is a line engraving printed in black and is uncoloured.

This China engraving would be a good addition to a collection of early prints of China and the Far East, of mountain scenery or of engineering curiosities. The dramatic gorge makes an effective small picture, framed in a study, hallway or reading room with other Asian views.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a few small spots in the left margin and some pale spotting; the image itself is clean and strong.

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.