Painting of Hong Kong, China
date: label: date made
content: ca 1860
name: label: maker
content: Taicheong
notes: label: Description
content: In the early 19th century, the Chinese did not permit foreigners in mainland China, so Europeans or Americans wishing to conduct business with Chinese merchants had to travel to specially designated Chinese ports. Hong Kong, or "Fragrant Harbor," was a treaty port granted to the British in 1842 as a result of the Opium Wars.
label: Description
content: This busy scene from ca. 1860 by Chinese artist Taicheong depicts several foreign ships at anchor as they await their next cargo. Colonnaded hongs or factories (warehouses and living quarters) line the shore several deep, right up to the foot of Victoria Peak. Chinese port paintings such as this one executed by Chinese artist Taicheong were produced in large numbers as souvenirs for the foreign sea traders who visited the port.
label: Description
content: The vessel in the foreground of the painting is an American three-masted square-rigged ship; its prominence may hint at the painting's owner. Just behind it is a large British warship, converted to a storage hulk or receiving ship where men and cargo could be stationed. There are four little English steamships as well as a Danish one, and a French brig rounds out the foreign fleet. Chinese junks and sampans also move around the busy scene. Off to the far right there is even a sizeable American sidewheel paddle steamer painted white, identifiable by its hogging truss bridging its upper deck, the distinctive paddle box and other features.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Maritime
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
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content: Cigna Maritime Collection
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content: Transportation
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0279.029
label: accession number
content: 2005.0279
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0279.029
objectType: label: Object Name
content: painting
label: Object Name
content: painting, oil
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: oil on canvas (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: mounted on panel (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: without frame: 17 in x 29 in; 43.18 cm x 73.66 cm
label: Measurements
content: with frame: 21 3/4 in x 34 in; 55.245 cm x 86.36 cm