Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
1809
Aquatint with hand color
Mat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm); image: 12½ × 17 in. (31.8 × 43.2 cm)
Provenance: John Dominis Holt, Honolulu, HI
This aquatint after John Webber depicts a sailing canoe from Otaheite, the 18th-century European name for Tahiti. Webber served as official draughtsman on Captain Cook’s third voyage, producing images that became central to the visual record of Pacific exploration. Prints after his drawings helped introduce European audiences to the vessels, landscapes, and material culture of Polynesia.
The image records the form of a Tahitian sailing canoe with its outrigger structure, upright sail, and figures aboard the vessel. The aquatint process allowed for tonal variation and soft atmospheric effects, giving the maritime scene a greater sense of depth than line engraving alone. As a voyage-related print, it documents both Tahitian canoe technology and the European print culture through which Pacific subjects circulated in the early 19th century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
1809
Aquatint with hand color
Mat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm); image: 12½ × 17 in. (31.8 × 43.2 cm)
Provenance: John Dominis Holt, Honolulu, HI
This aquatint after John Webber depicts a sailing canoe from Otaheite, the 18th-century European name for Tahiti. Webber served as official draughtsman on Captain Cook’s third voyage, producing images that became central to the visual record of Pacific exploration. Prints after his drawings helped introduce European audiences to the vessels, landscapes, and material culture of Polynesia.
The image records the form of a Tahitian sailing canoe with its outrigger structure, upright sail, and figures aboard the vessel. The aquatint process allowed for tonal variation and soft atmospheric effects, giving the maritime scene a greater sense of depth than line engraving alone. As a voyage-related print, it documents both Tahitian canoe technology and the European print culture through which Pacific subjects circulated in the early 19th century.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
