ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816) - photo 1
ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816) - photo 2
ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816) - photo 3

ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816)

Sold
£ 8 190
Auction dateClassic
13.07.2023 10:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 992903
Lot 138 | ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816)
ALEXANDER, William (1767-1816)

The costume of China illustrated with forty-eight coloured engravings. London: William Miller, letterpress by W. Bulmer and Co., 1805.

Unique extra-illustrated large-paper copy, with the plates printed on folio sheets and the text extended to match. The extra-illustration is an engraved portrait of the emperor Tchien Loong is 'based on a picture from a Chinese hanging scroll of the Qianlong emperor, which must have been brought back by the Macartney embassy. It was published on 15 January 1795, just four months after their return' (British Museum collection, Mm, 1.61). ‘William Alexander (1767-1816), student of the Royal Academy, studied art under Pars, and subsequently Ibbetson ... From 1792 to 1794 he accompanied Lord George Macartney's official embassy on behalf of the British government to Beijing, where he documented the visit and made drawings of the Chinese court... The plates depict various mandarins, tradesmen, royalty and all phases of Chinese society, fashion and costume’ (Western Travellers in China). Abbey, Travel 534; Bobins III, 1101; Löwendahl 727; Western Travellers in China 51.



Large folio (583 x 416mm). Extra-illustrated with an engraved portrait frontispiece of the Emperor Tchien Loong coloured by a contemporary hand, engraved and published by Mariano Bovi, London, January 15, 1795, sepia aquatint dedication to the Earl of Macartney, and 47 aquatint plates all coloured by a contemporary hand on large-paper with tissue guards some of which with printed captions, on various papers by Russell & Co., and E&P, dated 1798 and J. Whatman 1801, quarto text inlaid with margins extended to match the size of the plates, list of plates at end (without half-title, as often, or list of subscribers). Modern red straight-grained half morocco gilt, red square morocco gilt cornerpieces, spine in eight compartments with raised bands gilt, 19th-century red papered boards. Provenance: Baroness Burdett Coutts (pencil note 'from the Burdett Coutts library'; sale Sotheby’s 15-17 May, 1922, lot 6).





Special notice

No VAT is payable on the hammer price or the buyer's premium for this lot. Please see the VAT Symbols and Explanation section of the Conditions of Sale for further information
Place of origin:Asia
Category:Printed book
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.07.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.