Painting, <I>Tea Clipper</I>
date: label: date made
content: ca 1840
name: label: maker
content: Sunqua
notes: label: Description
content: The house flag displayed on the mainmast identifies the owner of the unidentified clipper ship as Thomas Wardle, a New York merchant. In 1848, he took over as operator of the Charleston Ship Line after the former operator, George Sutton, died. The Charleston Line provided regular service between Charleston, South Carolina and New York, participating heavily in the cotton trade. Wardle, however, was not only involved in the Charleston Line ships. He owned or partially owned several clipper ships including San Francisco, Extreme, and Adelaide. According to the New York Daily Times article "Our Shipyards" August 13, 1853, San Francisco, built by Abraham C. Bell in New York, was intended for the California and China trades. Another source places Wardle in the East Indies and California service around 1840 with a slight variation on his house flag. The painting shows clipper ship, junks, and other small Chinese craft in a busy harbor. Human figures can be seen on the junks, including the captain of the American ship, who is using a spyglass to see the shore. A rocky landscape is in the background. Flying an ensign of 1848 on the mainmast, the ship was probably painted while docked at Whampoa.
label: Description
content: Sunqua was a 19th century Chinese painter. He was one of the better-known Chinese artisans, although paintings by him are rare. He is known for painting Western ships in Chinese ports.
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: 2005.0279.014
label: accession number
content: 2005.0279
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0279.014
objectType: label: Object Name
content: painting
label: Object Name
content: painting, oil
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: oil on canvas (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: without frame: 28 in x 38 in; 71.12 cm x 96.52 cm
label: Measurements
content: with frame: 36 in x 46 3/4 in; 91.44 cm x 118.745 cm