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19th Century Chinese schoolView of the Hongs, CantonCirca 1850
Circa 1850
About the Item
Sought by collectors worldwide, art and artifacts showing an early western presence in the Orient boomed with the opening of the China Trade by way of the sailing ship. The surviving paintings which capture the important Chinese harbors of the 18th and 19th Centuries with western merchants are at the top of such a list of desirable items.
Showing the American, British and Danish flags over their respective factory houses, the Pearl River traffic bustles beneath the shore of Canton city’s edge. Foreign merchants and captains had to anchor off Whampoa, down the river, and travel by junk, sampan or other transport operated by the local mariners, using a wide variety of propulsion, as shown. No firearms, women and very few average crewmen were allowed to travel upriver to Canton. Though all seemed to make their way upriver anyway, if in secret.
This example, showing great coloration and detail, represents the height of the international tea trade and the period of record sailings by the clipper ships. No less than forty people occupy the many vessels on the river, all playing a part in the vast trade.
A large decorated cruising barge floats in the background as musicians play traditional Chinese instruments accompanied by a singer, likely serenading guests with popular selections from Peking-style operas. An important looking official stands on the high rear deck of his ship as many oars propel him forward. A fisherman’s single oar craft overloaded with fish, navigates through the larger ships, making his way to sell the catch.
Note the shoreline’s wealth of trees and foliage between the hongs and river, mostly planted in the 1840s by an American indemnity fund company. At this point, there is even a Western church before the British factory, at the end of Hog’s Road, which was built in 1847. A second great Canton fire in 1856 destroyed most of this area, and it was never fully rebuilt. Paintings like this form an important and historic record of a time and way of life now lost to history.
Set in its original gilt Chinese Chippendale frame.
Sight Size: 11 x 17 1/8 Inches
Vallejo Gallery features the finest in marine and maritime antiques, artifacts and fine art including pieces of naval and yachting history including the America’s Cup, the age of the clipper ships and merchant ships through to the great passenger and ocean liners of the early 20th Century. We are always seeking to purchase the finest quality maritime and marine themed art.
- Creator:19th Century Chinese school (1775 - 1900, Chinese)
- Creation Year:Circa 1850
- Dimensions:Height: 14.75 in (37.47 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Costa Mesa, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2139211254452
19th Century Chinese school
Paintings from the China Trade Beginning in the late 1700s, an increasing number of international merchant vessels began bringing back to their respective ports cargos of exotic objects from China which found ready markets in America and Europe. An insatiable interest in Asian things resulted in a range of exquisite objects created by Chinese artisans specifically for the western markets. Among the items that filled the holds of the sailing ships were furniture, silk embroideries, lacquerware, ivory carvings, fans, and a fascinating variety of paintings. These paintings offered first hand documentation of the ships that plied the Far East Trade and the exotic ports they visited. These early ‘China Trade’ paintings are considered to be some of the finest harbor views and ship portraits ever produced. They usually have no signatures or labels and offer little or no indication of who the artist was. Only a score or so names from the period are even known and these may be positively identified with only a very few paintings.
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