Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh

Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 1195. A VIEW OF WHAMPOA ANCHORAGE QING DYNASTY, MID-19TH CENTURY | 清十九世紀中期 黃埔風光 油彩 裝框.

A VIEW OF WHAMPOA ANCHORAGE QING DYNASTY, MID-19TH CENTURY | 清十九世紀中期 黃埔風光 油彩 裝框

Auction Closed

January 25, 06:44 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

A VIEW OF WHAMPOA ANCHORAGE

QING DYNASTY, MID-19TH CENTURY

清十九世紀中期 黃埔風光 油彩 裝框


oil on canvas, depicting the view of Whampoa anchorage from Dane's Island, with the French Island to the left and Junk Island to the right, the waterways with European vessels anchored, including French, British and American ships, Whampoa island itself depicted with Pazhou Pagoda in center left, inscribed in white Whampoa in the foreground, in a Chinese black lacquered and gilt wood frame

height 16⅞ in., 42.9 cm; width 29⅞ in., 75.9 cm

The Collection of John Howland Ricketson III

Northeast Auctions, Hampton, New Hampshire, June 1, 1993, lot 67

Marguerite Riordan, Stonington, Connecticut 

A similar view of Whampoa anchorage from Dane's Island, painted circa 1850 and attributed to Youqua, is illustrated in Carl L. Crossman, The Decorative Arts of the China Trade, Suffolk, 1991, p. 414, fig. 12. Crossman notes the inclusion of the western cemetery in the foreground, as seen in the present example, was a popular composition between 1840-55. An earlier view from French Island of Whampoa anchorage, probably painted in the 1830s is illustrated in Picturing Cathay: Maritime and Cultural Images of the China Trade, University of Hong Kong Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 2002, p.106, cat. no. 47. The author notes that the principal anchorage of foreign ships and vessels lay between Whampoa Island (now Pazhou Island) one one side and Dane's Island (Changzhou Island) with French Island (Xiaoguwei) on the other side. In 1756, the Dane's and French Islands were designated for English and French seamen and sailors to use as grounds for recreational activities, with the aim of reducing fights between the seamen of the two countries.