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1 of 253523 objects
Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827)
Tea on shore. 1794
Hand-coloured etching with aquatint | 38.5 x 49.6 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 810311
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A hand-coloured satirical print of a tea party in which a naval officer, seated on the right, flirts with the daughter of his host who looks on with disapproval while adding hot water to a teapot. A young black servant offers biscuits or cakes to the lady on the left, probably the young woman's mother. She beams eagerly at a man taking snuff. Two birds are in a cage above the young couple, providing a sly comment on their amorous conversation. A small dog sits to up at the centre, drawing our attention to the flirtatious conversation on the left. This is one of Thomas Rowlandson's satires on society, intended to have a long shelf life as it was unrelated to current affairs. The integral border and use of aquatint would have made this slightly more expensive than most satirical prints, and it was intended to be displayed or pasted in to an album.
For other impressions of this print, see 810312 (another impression issued by Fores in 1794) and 810313 (the original 1789 publication by J Harris). -
Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Hand-coloured etching with aquatint
Measurements
38.5 x 49.6 cm (sheet of paper)
Category
Object type(s)