VIEW OF LAKE PAO-YNG
etching with engraving by William & Elizabeth Ellis, published 1796 by G.Nicol
36.5 x 50.5cm
57 x 70.7cm (framed)

Property from a London Collection

A view of Lake Pao-Yng (possibly Gaoyou Lake or Shaobo Lake) and a southern section of the Grand Canal (or Jinghang Waterway), a vast man-made network of canals and rivers that run 2,000km from Beijing to the Zhejiang province. In Staunton's description of this plate he notes the extensive practice of fishing cormorant - the use of birds, in this case Pelicanus Sinensis, to catch fish.

Literature
Sir George Staunton, An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, London 1797, p. xxvi, the scene described; pl. 36, illustrated

offered for sale without reserve