Sir George Staunton Hand Numbered Limited Edition Print on Paper :"Staunton's Embassy To China."
Title: Staunton's Embassy To China.
Dimensions (W x H ): Paper Size: 34 x 24 in | Image Size: 34 x 24 in
Edition | Medium: Each print is hand numbered, accompanied by a certificate signed by the Master Printer and is numbered to match the print. The editions are limited to 1880 copies. |
This Gouttelette print on paper is published with light-fast inks to BS1006 Standard onto acid-free calcium carbonate buffered stock, mould-made from 100% cotton and sourced from environmentally conscious paper suppliers. This product is exclusive to Rosenstiels.
About the Art: Superior Edition
About the Artist:
Sir George Leonard Staunton (1737 – 1801), 1st Baronet and Royal Society Fellow, was a diplomat, colonial administrator and botanist.
From 1792 to 1794, he travelled to Peking as secretary to Earl Macartney, during the Macartney Embassy to Beijing in 1793, which was the first formal embassy from Great Britain to China. The purpose of the mission was to convince the Chinese Emperor Qianlong to relax restrictions on trade between Britain and China and allow the Bristish Government to have a permanent embassy in Beijing. Unfortunately, negotiations failed and the trip’s historical significance was marked as a missed opportunity by the Chinese to increase trade with the Western world, and thus move towards industrialisation.
Accompanying Staunton to China was his son, George Thomas Staunton (1781 – 1859), an 11 year old boy, who, it emerged, was the only European member of the embassy who could converse with the Emperor in Mandarin. Later, the young Staunton was to use his linguistic talents as a writer, translating many Chinese works into English.
Sir George Leonard Staunton’s account of the historical event was assembled in his seminal, and work An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China. Based largely upon Earl Macartney’s papers, the account provided many invaluable geographical and cultural observations, including maps and engravings. The engraved illustrations for Staunton's work were selected and arranged by the eminent explorer and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks. The illustrations were drawn by William Alexander, an English draftsman and watercolorist. Alexander accompanied the official embassy on behalf of the British government to Beijing, where he documented the visit and made drawings of the Chinese court. Today, his original watercolours can be found in the British Museum, where he was later to be appointed Assistant Keeper of Antiquities. For Staunton’s account, the drawings were engraved after the artist by various engravers including William Lowry and James Heath.
