Description:
Chinese rectangular miniature on ivory depicting the Canton waterfront. The foreground consists of a harbor area on the Pearl River with numerous Chinese chop boats and junks; the background shows a strip of land with an assortment of Western-style buildings known as the "Foreign Factories." The courtyards in front of the buildings show six flags, from left to right: Denmark, Spain (the Philippine Company), United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Holland. According to the rules of trade, Westerners could not enter the city of Canton, but were confined to a 12-acre section in the western suburbs where the foreign factories housed the Western merchants while they remained in Canton. These small, narrow structures, located about 300 feet from the water, also functioned as places to conduct business. Stretching about 1,000 feet in length from east to west, these structures were mostly two or three stories high, and often connected to each other by arcades or arched passageways. Chinese shopkeepers occupied narrow streets between the factory buildings (named Old China Street, New China Street, and Hog Lane) selling lacquerware, furniture, silver, porcelains, and other novelty items designed to appeal to the merchants and sailors. Oil paintings, watercolors, and miniatures, like this example, were popular souvenirs for sale to Westerners, capturing one of the most recognizable and familiar views of Canton. The picture is framed in a black painted frame with molded rib fluting.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+69.0009 |
