Object Type
This print is a combined engraving and etching. An etching is produced by biting lines in a metal plate with acid. An engraving is made by first cutting lines into the surface of the plate. The printmaker makes lines of both types on a single piece of metal which are then filled with ink and printed onto paper to produce the image.

Subject Depicted
The Far East had long held a fascination for Westerners since traders, and later the various East India companies, had introduced exotic oriental goods to Europe. Matthew Darley (active 1741-1780) and George Edwards produced the earliest and one of the finest English pattern books gathering together Chinoiserie (Chinese-inspired) designs, which included this print. Other prints in A New Book of Chinese Designs (1754) ranged from figures and flowers to birds, furniture and buildings. This plate is entitled 'Imperial Retreat for Angling'. Angling is one of the typical activities assigned to Chinese people in European Chinoiserie fantasy. When it was republished in 1759 this plate was referred to as a 'Water Summer House'. The design of the pavilion wavers between a serious architectural approach, classically emphasised by pyramidal composition, large-scale proportions and ornamental structure, and a picturesque asymmetrical decoration of Chinese lattice railings, windows and pagoda roofs. It evokes the exotic garden buildings which were highly fashionable in Europe at this time.

Ownership & Use
These prints were intended for different uses. They were bought as a guide to the latest stylistic fashions and provided a useful design source for craftspeople, such as Western lacquer workers, wallpaper designers or embroiderers. This particular print may have served as a model for architects wishing to create new and original garden-house designs.