China Trade Painting of the Canton Factories

Description:

China Trade Painting of the Canton Factories,

1810-1820. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, this view of the foreign factories shows the flags of France, America, Britain, and the Netherlands flying, as well as junks and a dense cluster of small boats in the water, 18 x 23 in. (sight). Condition: Unlined, small puncture, repairs, craquelure.

Provenance: Descended in the family of Nathaniel Kinsman of Salem, Massachusetts, a sea captain engaged in the China Trade. He commanded the Australia, the Fanny, and the Trent, all of Salem. His Chinese export business was so substantial that he built an elaborate residence at Macao which was painted by Lam Qua, probably the best mid-19th century Chinese painter working for the western community. Lam Qua also painted a portrait of Nathaniel Kinsman's daughter, as recorded in his papers at the Peabody Essex Museum, according to The Decorative Arts of The China Trade by Carl Crossman, 1991, p. 89.
Estimate $12,000-15,000

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