Tonga. Friendly Islands in Presence of Queen Tineh. c1800
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by D'Entrecasteaux, Bruni
Antique print of A Dance at the Friendly Islands in Presence of Queen Tineh. A wonderful engraving of nubile females dancing, and a Tongan indicating the Queen to the arriving westerner.
Fine original copperplate engraving by Birrell from a drawing by Harding after the sketch by
French painter and navaldraughtsman, Piron (active 1791-1793). Published for "An Account of A Voyage in search of La Perouse...Under the Command of Rear-Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux'. 20. Apr. 1800 by J. Debrett Piccadilly.
This soft but thick hand-woven paper has a crease down the right side of the image. If has slight age discolouration of the page edges, and was as usual, cropped across the publisher information at the base. The page size 290 x 225mm (approximately 11.5 x 9 inches).