Painting thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Painting

c.1795 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This watercolour is from an album of 24 pages. It was commissioned by an English customer in 1796. Many of the pages show people belonging to various ranks of Chinese society. The original Chinese caption reads 'Tidu', meaning 'provincial commander'. The English gentleman, however, wrote down his own interpretation in pencil: 'infantry or foot warrior'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Watercolours on paper
Brief description
Painting, watercolours on paper, Guangzhou, China, c.1795
Physical description
Painting depicting a central figure on plain ground. The figure wears a brown costume with gold embroidery and carries a long black bow and ste of arrows. Above the figure are two lines of text, one in Chinese characters, the second an English translation. The translation reads; Infantry or Foot Warrior.
Dimensions
  • Height: 19.2cm
  • Width: 11cm
  • Height: 19.1cm
Album length 19.6cm, album width 12.2cm, album height 1.5cm.
Style
Object history
The translation at the top of the sheet is inaccurate, the original Chinese caption reads 'Tidu', meaning 'provincial commander'.
This painting is one of twenty-eight from an album depicting the costumes of various chinese officials, tradesmen, soldiers and artisans. The whole series is numbered D.895-1898 to D.922-1989.
Purchased from E. Parsons & Sons, accessioned in 1898. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Summary
This watercolour is from an album of 24 pages. It was commissioned by an English customer in 1796. Many of the pages show people belonging to various ranks of Chinese society. The original Chinese caption reads 'Tidu', meaning 'provincial commander'. The English gentleman, however, wrote down his own interpretation in pencil: 'infantry or foot warrior'.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
D.899-1898

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Record createdFebruary 6, 2003
Record URL
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