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View at the head of the Harbour of Papetoai Harbour


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Abstract

A shoreline panorama, including a small boat; with colouring instructions.

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"Copied for Capt F" FitzRoy; "P 509. Vol 2." [top left corner 52v]


Drawing, double page panorama; reproduced facing Narrative 2: 509. On 52v the sky contains vague indications of clouds, mainly cumulus. The horizon is distant to the left, faintly showing the unevenly level contours of a line of rocky hills, with some indication of vertical brows. Lower gentler but still rocky slopes fall diagonally leftwards. The right-hand edge of this block falls away sharply behind a central lower rounded hill with little indication of structure. A fin-shaped small hilltop protrudes behind the right-handand slope of the central hill. The lower slopes all lead down to a shore, lined with mainly leafy bushes and trees with the occasional tall palm protruding. This shoreline gradually approaches closer to the viewer across the rest of the folio, the trees being sketched in increasing detail. Behind the shore, from the centre to the centre right of the folio, a verdant hillside rises at 45, climbing to a more level top at the right-hand edge. Behind the middle portion of the 45 rise, we can recognise the abrupt and rough conical hilltop shown in MS.Add.7984: 52. The water is calm, with some indication of shadows from the centre to the right of the picture. In the left foreground, a near foreshore is implied by the existence of vegetation, which is a mix of grass tufts, rushes and small shrubs. In the centre foreground, we see a sailing boat, which may be made of rushes, with an upturned stern and a pointed prowboard facing right. In the prow a mast leans towards the stern; guy ropes are shown, including two attached to cantilevers projecting from the near side of the boat, but no sails. On 53r, the foreground continues the expanse of calm water. The centre and right of the foreground is occupied by a beach, annotated: "white sand", in which a palm bearing coconuts is shown, with a smaller palm-like bush or fern with other hosta-like shrubby undergrowth surrounding its base; the leaves and fronds of this group are drawn in some detail. The shoreline in the centre right sweeps back leftwards from the foreground into the midground, and is heavily covered with low trees whose foliage resembles the breadfruit trees of MS.Add.7984: 48, passing from there in the midground into 52v, where palms protrude here and there above other bushy trees. On the left, 53r continues the descending line of the verdant hillside from 52v, as it falls away to reveal another similar slope behind it, which in turn falls away to the centre left, then slowly rises again towards the centre right, where it is obscured by the crown of the palm tree further to the right. Conical hilltops are outlined against the sky in the centre, the lower points on that contour allowing glimpses of more distant conical and/or rounded hilltops. The sky is blank. The apex of the curve of the water between the foreground and the midground is heavily shadowed; other shadings also suggest that the sun is shining from the right.

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