James Bruce of Kinnaird, having reached a fountain at Gisha (Abyssinia) regarded as the source of the Nile, uses a coconut to drink the water to the health of King George III and Empress Catherine the Great. Engraving by J. Gillray, 1793, after R.M. Paye.

  • Paye, Richard Morton, 1750-1821.
Date:
March 1793
Reference:
667946i
  • Pictures
  • Online

Available online

view James Bruce of Kinnaird, having reached a fountain at Gisha (Abyssinia) regarded as the source of the Nile, uses a coconut to drink the water to the health of King George III and Empress Catherine the Great. Engraving by J. Gillray, 1793, after R.M. Paye.

Public Domain Mark

You can use this work for any purpose without restriction under copyright law. Read more about this licence.

Credit

James Bruce of Kinnaird, having reached a fountain at Gisha (Abyssinia) regarded as the source of the Nile, uses a coconut to drink the water to the health of King George III and Empress Catherine the Great. Engraving by J. Gillray, 1793, after R.M. Paye. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Selected images from this work

View 1 image

About this work

Description

The place is called Gishe Abbay (meaning source Nile), according to Bredin; called Geesh by Bruce, loc. cit.

Publication/Creation

London (No. 58 Cornhill) : R. Wilkinson, March 1793.

Physical description

1 print : etching ; platemark 61.7 x 81.2 cm

Contributors

References note

James Bruce, Travels to discover the source of the Nile, in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 and 1773, Edinburgh 1790, vol. III, pp. 632-644 (describes the place, visited 4-6 November 1770, does not mention the toast)
Miles Bredin, The pale Abyssinian: a life of James Bruce, African explorer and adventurer, London 2000, p. 162 (describes the episode, does not mention this portrayal)
Thomas Wright, The works of James Gillray, the caricaturist, London 1873, appendix pp. 372-374, 'Works, not belonging to the province of caricature or satire, executed by James Gillray as an engraver' (this work not mentioned)
William Schupbach, 'Item of the month – February 2009', Wellcome Library blog, 21 February 2009, archived at : https://wayback.archive-it.org/16107/20210314081756/http://blog.wellcomelibrary.org/2009/02/item-of-the-month-february-2009/
Mark Bills, 'James Gillray; a revolution in satire', Print quarterly, 2023, 40: 353-354 ("an accomplished work displaying Gillray's technical abilities")

Reference

Wellcome Collection 667946i

Type/Technique

Languages

Subjects

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores

Permanent link