#M32
Ca. 1810s
Two pen and wash watercolours on paper ca. 12x19 cm (4 ¾ x 7 ¼ in) and 13x19,5 cm (5 x 7 ½ in). Each mounted on a period album leaf ca. 19x23 cm (7 ½ x 9 in), captioned and signed “H.E.R.” in period ink on the mount or in the right lower corner. Paper slightly age-toned, one mount with a couple of tears on the lower margin not affecting the image; overall very good watercolours.
Two attractive 19th-century pen and wash watercolours, drawn after the aquatints from Thomas and William Daniell’s “A Picturesque Voyage to India by the Way of China” (London: Longman, Hurst, Reees and Orme, 1810). The drawings, in a detailed and accurate manner, recreated two of Daniell’s “Javanese” aquatints – “Anjere Point, Strait of Sunda” and “Malays of Java.” The first one depicts the busy western Javanese town of Anyar facing the Sunda Strait, which was completely destroyed by a tsunami during the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The second drawing is a group portrait of Malay inhabitants of Java, detailing their costumes and headdress; two men with fighting cocks are seen on the left. Both drawings are signed “H.E.R.” by the unidentified artist. Overall a nice pair of early watercolours depicting Java and its inhabitants.
