Engraving by T. Allom: Arrival of Marriage Presents

Guests huddle on a carved veranda in what looks like a very serious negotiation

This engraving is from London, England, United Kingdom, and is dated 1843. 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. Drawn in black and white, an interior view of a beamed veranda with latticed screens and carved beams, where clustered figures gather around small tables. A group stands on the right. It is 10.5 inches wide and 7.8 high.

Everyone is leaning in as if the real conversation was elsewhere.