Tonga, Polynesia
1784
Copper plate engraving after John Webber
24 x 20 in. including archival mat
61 x 50.8 cm including archival mat
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, Hawaii; Lahaina Printsellers, Maui, Hawaii
This copper plate engraving depicts Poulaho, king of the Friendly Islands, the European name historically used for Tonga. It comes from the first edition atlas of Captain Cook’s third and final voyage, published in 1784, with the image after John Webber. Poulaho, more accurately Fatafehi Paulaho, was the Tu‘i Tonga, a sacred chiefly figure whose presence was recorded in Cook voyage accounts.
Webber served as the official artist on Cook’s third voyage, and his images shaped the visual record of the Pacific for European audiences. The engraving presents Poulaho through the formal portrait conventions of late 18th-century expedition publishing. As a Cook voyage print, it connects Tongan chiefly history with one of the major published bodies of Pacific exploration imagery.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tonga, Polynesia
1784
Copper plate engraving after John Webber
24 x 20 in. including archival mat
61 x 50.8 cm including archival mat
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, Hawaii; Lahaina Printsellers, Maui, Hawaii
This copper plate engraving depicts Poulaho, king of the Friendly Islands, the European name historically used for Tonga. It comes from the first edition atlas of Captain Cook’s third and final voyage, published in 1784, with the image after John Webber. Poulaho, more accurately Fatafehi Paulaho, was the Tu‘i Tonga, a sacred chiefly figure whose presence was recorded in Cook voyage accounts.
Webber served as the official artist on Cook’s third voyage, and his images shaped the visual record of the Pacific for European audiences. The engraving presents Poulaho through the formal portrait conventions of late 18th-century expedition publishing. As a Cook voyage print, it connects Tongan chiefly history with one of the major published bodies of Pacific exploration imagery.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
