Chinese Export Maritime Painting of the Steam Yacht Empress of China 19th C.

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Description

Chinese Export Maritime Painting of the Steam Yacht Empress of China
Oil on canvas laid to board, in original black … Read more Chinese Export Maritime Painting of the Steam Yacht Empress of China
Oil on canvas laid to board, in original black lacquered and giltwood frame
China Trade, likely Hong Kong or Canton, circa 1891–1905

This finely rendered China Trade ship portrait depicts the steam yacht Empress of China in full profile, cresting the sea under a pink-clouded sky. Flying the British blue ensign at stern and a red-and-white burgee at foremast, the vessel is painted with precision characteristic of Chinese export marine painters working at the turn of the century. The twin-funneled vessel is shown under steam and partial sail, with deck detail rendered in minute, linear clarity. The ship’s name—EMPRESS OF CHINA—is painted at the prow.

The black lacquered frame with gilt sight edge is original to the work and typical of marine portraits produced for export to Western clientele. The painting measures approximately 22.5 inches wide by 17.25 inches high (sight), and 27.125 inches wide by 22 inches high in frame.

Historical Note on the Vessel
The Empress of China depicted here is almost certainly the private steam yacht built in 1891 by the Ramage & Ferguson yard of Leith, Scotland. Originally commissioned by A. A. Low & Co., a New York shipping firm with ties to the China trade, the yacht was subsequently owned by W. A. Slater (nephew of William Slater of Slatersville, Rhode Island) and later by financier George Jay Gould I. At one point, it was briefly loaned to the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War. Its name, alluding to the first American ship to sail from the United States to China in 1784, was deeply symbolic and likely chosen to appeal to a historically conscious transpacific elite.

Attribution and Artistic Context
While unsigned, the painting is stylistically consistent with the work of Chinese port painters such as Tinqua (Guan Lianchang) or artists working in the circle of Lai Fong (active in Calcutta and Hong Kong in the late 19th century), who often depicted Western steamships with this level of technical fidelity. The careful rendering of hull and rigging, coupled with the soft atmospheric modeling of the sky, reflects the hybrid Chinese-European aesthetic characteristic of export marine paintings of the period.

Measurements:
27.125" w x 22" h (frame)
22.5" w x 17.25" h (canvas) See less