Guilin Boat
Painting
1800-1820 (made)
1800-1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painting is from a set of 50 depicting the different types of boats that cluttered the Pearl River. It shows a boat that plied the river between the Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The boat was named after its place of origin, Guilin. Paintings such as this were mass-produced as souvenir items.
Lord George Macartney (1737-1806) was the first British ambassador to China. His description of the setting reads: 'the river of Canton is covered with boats and vessels of various sorts and sizes, all, even the very smallest, constantly and thickly inhabited'.
Lord George Macartney (1737-1806) was the first British ambassador to China. His description of the setting reads: 'the river of Canton is covered with boats and vessels of various sorts and sizes, all, even the very smallest, constantly and thickly inhabited'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and ink on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, 'Guilin Boat', watercolours on paper, Guangzhou, China, 1800-1820 |
| Physical description | Painting, rectangular in shape, depicting a boat or ship. The stern is raised higher than the bow. Three figures are on board, two at the front and one at the rear. In the centre, a tall mast with perpendicualr rods at the top and bottom but no sail. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Once part of a folio containing 50 sheets depicting various boats and ships. These pages, now separated, are numbered 8655:1to51, with 8655:51 being a list of images originally inserted into the album. Lord George Macartney (1737-1806), the first British ambassador to China, described that 'the river of Canton is covered with boats and vessels of various sorts and sizes, all, even the very smallest, constantly and thickly inhabited'. This painting is from a set of 50 depicting the different types of boats that cluttered the Pearl River. It shows a ferry operating at night. Paintings such as this were mass-produced as souvenir items. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This painting is from a set of 50 depicting the different types of boats that cluttered the Pearl River. It shows a boat that plied the river between the Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The boat was named after its place of origin, Guilin. Paintings such as this were mass-produced as souvenir items. Lord George Macartney (1737-1806) was the first British ambassador to China. His description of the setting reads: 'the river of Canton is covered with boats and vessels of various sorts and sizes, all, even the very smallest, constantly and thickly inhabited'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Souvenir from Canton : Chinese export paintings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Shanghai, 2003
210 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 8655:41 |
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| Record created | February 9, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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