Hawaiian Islands / Atooi, Kauaʻi
1784, first edition atlas from Captain Cook's Third Voyage
Copper plate engraving by John Webber
Archival mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI
This copper plate engraving by John Webber depicts the interior of a house within a morai at Atooi, an early European rendering of a place name associated with Kauaʻi, from the first edition atlas of Captain Cook's third and final voyage, published in 1784. Webber served as the official artist on the expedition and was responsible for the principal visual record produced from the voyage; his decision to document the interior of a ceremonial structure rather than its exterior or setting was unusual within voyage illustration and gives this plate a distinctive character within the Cook atlas.
The scene records architectural and ritual elements within the morai with the documentary attention that characterized Webber's best work, showing a space that European visitors encountered with both curiosity and limited understanding. Interior views of Hawaiian ceremonial buildings are among the rarest subjects in the Cook voyage publications, and this plate occupies a specific position within the body of Kauaʻi imagery from the expedition. The Randy Nagatani provenance adds Honolulu collecting history to an engraving of particular documentary interest.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Hawaiian Islands / Atooi, Kauaʻi
1784, first edition atlas from Captain Cook's Third Voyage
Copper plate engraving by John Webber
Archival mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI
This copper plate engraving by John Webber depicts the interior of a house within a morai at Atooi, an early European rendering of a place name associated with Kauaʻi, from the first edition atlas of Captain Cook's third and final voyage, published in 1784. Webber served as the official artist on the expedition and was responsible for the principal visual record produced from the voyage; his decision to document the interior of a ceremonial structure rather than its exterior or setting was unusual within voyage illustration and gives this plate a distinctive character within the Cook atlas.
The scene records architectural and ritual elements within the morai with the documentary attention that characterized Webber's best work, showing a space that European visitors encountered with both curiosity and limited understanding. Interior views of Hawaiian ceremonial buildings are among the rarest subjects in the Cook voyage publications, and this plate occupies a specific position within the body of Kauaʻi imagery from the expedition. The Randy Nagatani provenance adds Honolulu collecting history to an engraving of particular documentary interest.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
