IMAGE
[Webber, John] ca 1751-1793. :Drums Otaheite. Idols Sandwich Isles. Paddles. Altar. [After John Webber by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg]
- Date
- 1785?
- By
- Webber, John, 1751-1793; Loutherbourg, Philippe Jacques de, 1740-1812; Turnbull, Alexander Horsburgh, 1868-1918
- Reference
- B-091-009
- Description
Sketches of two Tahitian drums, basket-work and side and front views of a feather god-figures of Hawaii (Ku, God of War), a wooden temple god figure, and a Hawaiian altar. An axe and two paddles in the upper left corner may be Maori or Hawaiian.
The artist is probably Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, copying several drawings by Webber and drawing artifacts from Cook's voyages first-hand from the Leverian Museum for the London production in 1785 of John O'Keeffe's play 'Omai or a trip around the world'. There are sizes written alongside several of the artifacts, e.g. '10ft' and '3ft'and these are much larger than the size of the actual artifacts, and are intended as instructions for makers of properties for the play. Compare the illustration "Basket-work figure of a Hawaiian god" by John Webber in J. Beaglehole's life of Captain Cook, v. 3 Pt 1, opp. p. 624. See also the engraving by Record after Webber "Various articles at the Sandwich Islands" from "A voyage to the Pacific Ocean ... by ... Captain ...and ... King. " London, Nicholl & Cadell, 1784. Atlas, plate 53. engraved by J. Record. (fR910.4 / COO / 1784). (Negative no. 32449 1/2)
The British Museum yearbook 3 (1979), page 133, plate 66, in an article by Rudiger Joppien, attributes this to P J de Loutherbourg.
Reproductions in publication: Reproduced in Murray-Oliver, Anthony. Captain Cook's Hawaii as seen by his artists. (Wellington, Millwood Press, 1975), p. 126, under title Various articles of the Sandwich Islands by an artist unknown.
Other Titles - Artist unknown. Tahiti. Hawaii. Various articles of the Hawaiian Islands
Inscriptions: Recto - Title and other figures. The word paddle is written beside both paddles.
Quantity: 1 watercolour(s).
Physical Description: 9 watercolour & ink sketches on sheet, 305 x 190 mm
Provenance: Probably collection of Alexander HorsburghTurnbull
- Access restrictions
- Partly restricted - Please use surrogate in place of original
- Format
- 1 watercolour(s), Works of art, Watercolours, Ink drawings, 9 watercolour & ink sketches on sheet, 305 x 190 mm, Orientation: Vertical image
Click to request to view this item, access digital version (if available), and see more information.
Usage
Purchasing this Item
This item is available as a high resolution download. A request to buy an image can take up to 10 working days to approve. It will depend on copyright and how the image is going to be used.
If this item has multiple pages, or is several items attached to a single record, you can use this form to order your copy.
Using this Item
You can copy this item for personal use, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It cannot be used commercially without permission, please ask us for advice. If reproducing this item, please maintain the integrity of the image (i.e. don't crop, recolour or overprint it), and ensure the following credit accompanies it:
Webber, John, 1751-1793. [Webber, John] ca 1751-1793. :Drums Otaheite. Idols Sandwich Isles. Paddles. Altar. [After John Webber by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg]. Ref: B-091-009. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23084824More information can be found in our terms of use.