Picturing Cathay

Features China trade paintings and export art works dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries. It focuses on the importance of maritime trade in encouraging cultural contact between East and West, and in the development of Chinese export art. The works include early paintings and drawings that were intended to document China and portraits of the people and vessels that were involved in the China trade. The majority of the paintings are port scenes of Canton and other later treaty ports; others depict the Chinese and their way of life. A number of export items including ceramics and carvings are also included. The catalogue contains essays by William Shang, Patrick Conner, and William Sargent on the historical importance of Chinese export art, the artist George Chinnery, and China trade paintings for the American market.