Description
HING QUA
THE HONGS AT CANTON
Oil on canvas, in period carved Chinese frames,
54cm x 93cm (21.25in x 36.5cm) and a companion a pair 'The Bund Shanghai' (2)
Footnote
Provenance: Ben Line Steamers Ltd
Note:The basis of the attribution is a trade label attached to one stretcher bearing the legend 'Hing Qua, Portrait and Chart Painter, Hong Kong
Literature:Carl L Crossman The China Trade, 1991, pp.145,147,148,154
Canton and Shanghai were two of the five treaty ports opened to trade with Britain by the Treaty of Nanking in 1843.The factories in Canton were largely destroyed by fire in 1842 and although the Protestant Church (seen right of centre)was financed by public subscription in 1849 it was burnt down again in 1856 effectively dating the picture to c.1850. Shanghai, 750 miles to the north of Canton, was the most westernized of the new ports open to the West. Built on the Whangpoo river the Chinese roofed Customs House (left of centre) is a readily identifiable landmark. The three ships with American flags are probably ice carriers whose arrival in the province in April presaged the beginning of warmer weather.