Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
Paris, 1778
Copper plate engraving
Koa frame: 17 × 27 in. (43.2 × 68.6 cm); image: 8½ × 10½ in. (21.6 × 26.7 cm)
Provenance: Dr. Terence Barrow, Honolulu, HI
This 1778 Paris copper plate engraving presents the plan and section of the Britannia, a Tahitian war canoe recorded during Captain Cook’s second voyage. Published in the French edition of Voyage dans l’Hémisphère Austral et Autour du Monde, the plate relates to the voyages of the Resolution and Adventure from 1772 to 1775. The image documents Tahitian canoe construction through a measured technical format rather than a scenic or narrative view.
The engraving shows the canoe in plan and cross-section, giving attention to structure, proportion, and design. Such plates were used to translate Pacific maritime knowledge into a form legible to European scientific and naval audiences. As a historical voyage print, it records the sophistication of Tahitian naval architecture and the role of engraving in preserving technical observations from early Pacific exploration.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tahiti / Otaheite, Polynesia
Paris, 1778
Copper plate engraving
Koa frame: 17 × 27 in. (43.2 × 68.6 cm); image: 8½ × 10½ in. (21.6 × 26.7 cm)
Provenance: Dr. Terence Barrow, Honolulu, HI
This 1778 Paris copper plate engraving presents the plan and section of the Britannia, a Tahitian war canoe recorded during Captain Cook’s second voyage. Published in the French edition of Voyage dans l’Hémisphère Austral et Autour du Monde, the plate relates to the voyages of the Resolution and Adventure from 1772 to 1775. The image documents Tahitian canoe construction through a measured technical format rather than a scenic or narrative view.
The engraving shows the canoe in plan and cross-section, giving attention to structure, proportion, and design. Such plates were used to translate Pacific maritime knowledge into a form legible to European scientific and naval audiences. As a historical voyage print, it records the sophistication of Tahitian naval architecture and the role of engraving in preserving technical observations from early Pacific exploration.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
