Prints

A figure, facing right standing with one hand on a dagger by his waist, in traditional Javanese 'court dress'. A building can be seen behind to the left, with hills on the right.
London, Published by Black, Parbury & Allen. Leadenhall Street. 1817. Plate 6 from 'The History of Java' written by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), published in two volumes, 1817.

After serving as Lieutenant Governor of Java, Raffles returned to London and began preparations for the publication of 'The History of Java'. He collected numerous documents of Javanese culture, including ancient and modern musical instruments, models, books, drawings, cloth, and carvings in wood and metal, as well as natural history specimens like plants, animal skeletons and skins. This immense collection was then transported to London and served his source material for the text.

Abbey: 554.

The English artists, Thomas and William Daniell visited Southern China in 1785 and again in 1793. They visited Canton, Whampoa and Macau and produced a number of paintings in watercolours and oils based on this journey. In 1784, Thomas Daniell received permission from the East India Company to travel to India "to follow his profession of an engraver." He was accompanied by his nephew, William Daniell. They travelled on board the East Indiaman Atlas to China and continued to Bengal in a country vessel, reaching India by early 1786. They returned to China in 1793. At this time England was at war with France and so the Daniells joined a convoy of thirteen East Indiamen and three foreign vessels which left Macao in March 1794 with Lord Macartney and the members of his embassy for the return leg of their journey from China. Their travels both to and in India resulted in some of the finest illustrations to come before the public and their work was - and remains - greatly in demand. A Picturesque Voyage to India by the way of China was published in 1810. It records the journey from England, with scenes taken at Madeira, the Cape of Good Hope. Their travels both to and in India resulted in some of the finest illustrations to come before the public and their work was - and remains - greatly in demand. A Picturesque Voyage to India by the way of China was published in 1810. It records the journey from England, with scenes taken at Madeira, the Cape of Good Hope, Java, Macao, Canton, the Straits of Malacca, and Calcutta. The work also contains images of Malays and Chinese. As with other works by the Daniells, the book has become rare. Thomas Daniell R.A. [1749-1840] William Daniell R.A. [1769 - 1837]