Engraving by Thomas Boys: Assar Mahal

Ruined arcades stand beside a quiet pond while a palm leans in from the corner.

This engraving is by Assar Mahal, from England, United Kingdom, and dates to the mid 19th century. 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. Broken halls and a bridge-like arcade face a flat stretch of water, with dark trees behind and a spiky palm at right. A fisherman-like figure stands on the near bank. Soft evening cloud is drawn in long horizontal strokes. It is 10.75 inches wide and 8.2 high.

Ruins always look better when someone has tidied up the clouds.