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Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.
FINE AND RARE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN HONG BOWL
Porcelain
China
Qianlong period, ca: 1780-85
Decorated with the Foreign Trade Warehouses in Canton, each flying their nation's flag.
Diameter 14 1/8 inches (36 cm.)
description
FINE AND RARE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN HONG BOWL
Qianlong period, ca: 1780-85
Vividly painted along the exterior painted with a continuous scene of the hongs (foreign trade warehouses or “factories”) that were situated outside the city walls of Canton on the Pearl River. The varying national flags of these factories are shown flying including those of France, Imperial Austria, Sweden, Britain, Holland, and Denmark. The walkways outside these factories are filled with numerous European and Chinese figures engaged in various commercial activities. The interior has a floral basket in the center, and an elaborate border of festoons and bands, and additional floral baskets. All finely painted in particularly deep and vibrant enamels. The subject of the Hongs can be found on porcelain (mostly bowls), export paintings, fans, and on Chinese export silver. The subject is one of the most iconic and important in the China Trade, representing this remarkable moment in time and commerce between East and West. The scenes give us a glimpse into that fascinating world.
Diameter 14 1/8 inches (36 cm.)
Provenance:
--Cottier & Co., New York, 9 December 1909
--Collection of Mrs. Charles B. Manning (1882-1965)
--Bernard Karr, Hyde Park Antiques: 1997- 2023
--Important Private American Collection: 2023- present
Exhibited:
--Harvard Art Museums, Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade, September 15, 2023- January 14, 2024
--Phoenix Art Museum, Exchanges East and West, September 6, 2024- August 24, 2025
Note: There are numerous variations of Hong Bowls. The earliest example was made in 1765 and is illustrated in Bredo L. Grandjean, Dansk Ostindisk Porcelæn, Copenhagen, 1965, fig. 113-114, cat. no. 107. It is now in the collection of M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark. Very similar examples of varying quality are in major museums and collections, including the British Museum (Franks Collection); the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem; and two from the Anthony Hardy Collection. The example in the Peabody Essex Museum is, recorded and described by William R. Sargent, 2012, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, p. 435, cat. no. 239. It is noted that the dating of the bowls can be correlated to the specific flags being flown.
Qianlong period, ca: 1780-85
Vividly painted along the exterior painted with a continuous scene of the hongs (foreign trade warehouses or “factories”) that were situated outside the city walls of Canton on the Pearl River. The varying national flags of these factories are shown flying including those of France, Imperial Austria, Sweden, Britain, Holland, and Denmark. The walkways outside these factories are filled with numerous European and Chinese figures engaged in various commercial activities. The interior has a floral basket in the center, and an elaborate border of festoons and bands, and additional floral baskets. All finely painted in particularly deep and vibrant enamels. The subject of the Hongs can be found on porcelain (mostly bowls), export paintings, fans, and on Chinese export silver. The subject is one of the most iconic and important in the China Trade, representing this remarkable moment in time and commerce between East and West. The scenes give us a glimpse into that fascinating world.
Diameter 14 1/8 inches (36 cm.)
Provenance:
--Cottier & Co., New York, 9 December 1909
--Collection of Mrs. Charles B. Manning (1882-1965)
--Bernard Karr, Hyde Park Antiques: 1997- 2023
--Important Private American Collection: 2023- present
Exhibited:
--Harvard Art Museums, Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade, September 15, 2023- January 14, 2024
--Phoenix Art Museum, Exchanges East and West, September 6, 2024- August 24, 2025
Note: There are numerous variations of Hong Bowls. The earliest example was made in 1765 and is illustrated in Bredo L. Grandjean, Dansk Ostindisk Porcelæn, Copenhagen, 1965, fig. 113-114, cat. no. 107. It is now in the collection of M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark. Very similar examples of varying quality are in major museums and collections, including the British Museum (Franks Collection); the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem; and two from the Anthony Hardy Collection. The example in the Peabody Essex Museum is, recorded and described by William R. Sargent, 2012, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, p. 435, cat. no. 239. It is noted that the dating of the bowls can be correlated to the specific flags being flown.
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