Painting, 'Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher', watercolour and ink on paper, Guangzhou, China, 1800-1830

Rectangular watercolour painting with a line border depicting a bird on plain ground. The bird faces to the left and is blue flecked with orange. It is perched on a branch with long, thing green leaves.

Foreign flora and fauna was of great interest to British botanists in the 18th and 19th centuries, and such enthusiasm gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers often returned to Britain with paintings depicting numerous species of birds. This painting of an oriental dwarf kingfisher is one of those mass-produced pictures aimed at European visitors.
Purchased from a source not recorded in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1890. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

This painting is an example of a type of picture that was mass produced in China for European visitors. It was made in Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China. In the 18th century the town became the principal – and later the only – trading port at which Europeans were permitted to buy Chinese goods.

Foreign flora and fauna were of great interest to British botanists in the 18th and 19th centuries, and such enthusiasm gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers often returned to Britain with paintings depicting numerous species of birds.

D.100-1890