Webber, John, 1751?-1793 :Assemblea in cui si beve il Cava [1777]. [1838-43].

Shows an outdoor meeting with male figures seated in a circle around two protagonists; one of these two (the 'King') sits crosslegged with a low half-unrolled woven screen behind him, and the other prostrates himself at the knees of the king. In the background are dwellings, palm trees and mountains.

This engraving copies an engraving from an original drawing by Webber, showing similar figures but in an interior setting, with beam and rafter construction above all the participants.

Plate 18 in Domeny de Rienzi's book. French edition (1835-36), has same plate and has the additional information that Danvin was the copyist for this plate, and Montaut was the engraver.

Other Titles - Assemblie ou l'on boit le Cava

Other Titles - Poulaho, King of the Friendly Islands, drinking Kava

Other Titles - Gesellscaft wo man Cava trinkt

Other Titles - Ceremony where kava is drunk

Extended Title - From G L Domeny's "Oceania o quinta parte del mondo revista geografica ed etnografica della Malesia, della Micronesia, della Polinesia e della Melanesia ...". Venezia, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1838-43. (Italian edition of his "Oceanie ...". Paris, Firmin Didot freres, 1835-36).

Inscriptions: Recto - top right - 18

Webber accompanied the third voyage of Captain Cook, 1776-80.

Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s) extracted from book..

Physical Description: Engraving, black and white, on paper, 141 x 216 mm.

Provenance: Purchased at Dunbar Sloane Ltd Winter Antique auction, 1997, lots 462, 463, 466, 468, and 470.