• Title : A Young Woman of Otaheite, bringing a Present
• Ref  :  31820
• Size: 14in x 11 1/2in (355mm x 295mm)
• Date : 1784
• Condition: (A+) Fine Good Condition

Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique print of a young Tahitian woman giving the ritual presentation of gifts of tapa cloth and two breast plates, along with food to Captain Cook and his crew, during a visit by Cook in 1777 during his 3rd and last Voyage of Discovery, was engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi , after Cooks onboard artist John Webber, and was published in the 1784 1st official edition of Capt. James Cook & Capt. James King publication of A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of his Majesty, for making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. To determine The Position and Extent of the West Side of North America; its Distance from Asia; and the Practicability of a Northen Passage to Europe. Performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, In His Majestys Ships the Resolution and Discovery. In the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. London 1784.

............Webber remarked on the ritual presentation of gifts of tapa cloth and two breast plates, along with food to Cook and his crew by two girls. The design of the girl’s attire recalls the wide panniers of eighteenth-century fashion, suggesting that the artist may have taken significant artistic license. However, the depiction is in concordance with Cook’s account. He describes seeing the girls dressed prior to their presentation, remarking on the “rather curious” manner in which one end of the cloth “was held up over the girls heads while the remainder was wraped round them under the armpits, then the upper ends were let fall and hung down in foulds to the ground over the other and looked something like a circular hooped petticoat. After ward round the out side of all were, were wraped several pieces of different Coloured cloth, which considerably increased the Size so that the whole was not less than five or six yards in circuit and was as much as the girls could support..............

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 14in x 11 1/2in (355mm x 295mm)
Plate size: - 14in x 11 1/2in (355mm x 295mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
Captain James King FRS 1750 – 1784 was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served under James Cook on his last voyage around the world, specialising in taking important astronomical readings using a sextant. After Cook died he helped lead the ships on the remainder of their course, also completing Cooks account of the voyage. He continued his career in the Navy, reaching the rank of post-captain, commanding several ships and serving in the American War of Independence.
King joined HMS Resolution as second lieutenant, sharing the duties of astronomer with Cook, taking astronomical observations on board by sextant and with Larcum Kendals timekeeper K1, to establish the Resolutions position at sea and on shore by sextant or by astronomical quadrant to establish the geographical position of salient points during the course of Cooks surveys. Thus Kings geographical positions were an important contribution to the accuracy of the various surveys carried out during the voyage and his use of the early chronometers helped prove their use at sea for calculation of Longitude. .
Following the death of Cook, King remained in the Resolution but on the death of Charles Clerke, Cooks successor, King was appointed to command HMS Discovery, the Resolution\\\'s consort, remaining in her for the rest of the voyage. After his return to England King was very much involved in the publication of the official account of Cooks third voyage, writing the third volume at Woodstock, near Oxford, where his brother Thomas was rector of St Mary Magdalene. But shortly after his return King was promoted Post-captain and appointed commander of HMS Crocodile in the English Channel.

John Webber was born in London, of Swiss descent. In the spring of 1776 he showed three works at the Royal Academy\'s annual exhibition, where they attracted the attention of Dr Daniel Solander, President of the Royal Society and a friend and colleague of botanist Joseph Banks. Both had sailed with Captain James Cook on his first voyage of exploration in the Pacific aboard the \'Endeavour\', and were looking for a suitable artist to accompany them on a third trip. Solander recommended Webber to the Admiralty, and he was appointed almost immediately.
The voyage commenced on 12 July 1776. Upon his return to London in 1780, Webber submitted about 200 finished works to the Admiralty, which he had made on the voyage. From autumn 1780 until summer 1784, he re-drew many of the drawings and supervised the engravers and printers who were preparing the images for publication, under the direction of Lord Sandwich.

Francesco Bartolozzi RA 1727 – 1815 was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London.
He lived in London for nearly forty years and produced an enormous number of engravings, including Clytie after Annibale Carracci, and of the Virgin and Child, after Carlo Dolci. A large proportion of them are from the works of Cipriani and Angelica Kauffman. Bartolozzi also contributed a number of plates to Boydell\'s Shakespeare Gallery. He also drew sketches of his own in red chalk. Soon after arriving in London, he was appointed \'Engraver to the King\' with an annual salary of £300. He was elected a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768, and in 1802 became the founding President of the short-lived Society of Engravers.