English Engraving, Framed

Pale figures linger beneath a rocky overhang and a bare, spindly tree

This engraving is from England, United Kingdom, and is dated 1860. It is ink on paper. Thomas Allom, an architect and founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects, illustrated books on China in the 1840s without ever making the trip there himself. Scaled down, a hand-colored scene of a cave-like cut in a cliff, with white-robed figures and a thin tree in the foreground. Sparse color on cliff and foliage. A wide white mat and a pale metallic molded frame surround it. It is 21.5 inches wide, 1.25 deep and 19.75 high.

A shady spot and a tree that has clearly seen better decades.