Natives of Cochin-China, Playing at Shuttlecock with their Feet.

William Alexander, engraved by John Landseer and J. Shirt on copper plate. 'Natives of Cochin-China, Playing at Shuttlecock with their Feet'. from Lord Macartney's Embassy to China. Published by G. Nicol London, 1796.

William Alexander's scene is situated in Cochinchina (Vietnam), where badminton is known as dá cau and is a national sport.

The 'embassy' was headed by Earl George Macartney (1737-1806), who was dispatched to Beijing in 1792. He was accompanied by George Staunton a medical doctor as his secretary. This engraving accompanied his famous account of the expedition.

This opened the way for future British missions, which would eventually lead to the first Opium War and the cession of Hong Kong to Britain in 1842. It also resulted in this invaluable account, prepared at government expense, largely from Lord Macartney's notes, by Staunton, of Chinese manners, customs and artifacts at the height of the Qing dynasty. The engravings are of special interest because of their depiction of subjects that very few Europeans had heard of or seen, showing how advanced Chinese civilisation was on a technical, artistic and organizational level. The shuttlecock which is used for the game can be traced back to as early as 5th century BC.

Dimensions are the average size of the pages in the album. The engraved areas on each plate vary in size.

Marks of age could be reduced by conservation or framed as it is. Would be posted rolled in a poster tube.

A fascinating episode of history related in: Peyrefitte, Alain. The Collision of Two Civilisations: The British Expedition to China 1792 - 4. Transl. Jon Rothschild, Harper Collins 1993 (orig. 1989)