PBA Galleries

Hand-colored aquatint. 43x59 cm (17x23¼") on (trimmed) sheet 44.4x60 cm (17½x23½").

Rare aquatint view of Moorea, part of what is now French Polynesia, next to the island of Tahiti in the Society Islands, though here referred to as being in the Friendly Islands. The busting harbor is filled with many native boats as well as James Cook’s fleet, its landscape of extremely jagged mountains rise on the horizon, dominating the scene. The natives and Europeans appear to mingle, giving no indication that this must have been one of the first meetings of the two cultures. This print was part of a set of four issued between 1787 and 1788, from watercolors by James Cleveley, carpenter on HMS Resolution, which were repainted in London by his brother, John Cleveley the younger. The paintings were made into aquatints by John Martin, whose signature is in the plate. Among the other three prints in the set was a view of the death of James Cook in Hawaii. The present example has had the margins trimmed, though the credit to John Cleveley (spelled Clevely) is present, and a portion of Junes' imprint. The title is not present.