06/12/2026
A surprise lot!
https://www.nyeandcompany.com/auction-lot/chinese-qing-dynasty-china-trade-hongs-at-canton-_AB3758B73B
Chinese Qing Dynasty "China Trade" Hongs at Canton, Oil on Canvas
Apparently unsigned. A large and impressive view of the Hongs in Canton, with the American paddle steam vessel "River Bird" in middle ground, and a second steam-sail to its right. The painting captures in unusually busy scene in front of the western factories, each labeled with their country's flag. The "hongs" or "factories" - which burned down in 1856 - were trading bases of Western merchants working in China. The area was destroyed many times by fire and war, with the last in 1856 during Second O***m War, With British Union Jack, Danish, American and French flags flying, such "China Trade" paintings were typically commissioned by foreign merchants.
The River Bird was the second such ocean going side-wheel steamer to sail from New York to China. Among its owners were J.B. Endicott, and Robert S. Sturgis, a partner in Russell & Co. The River Bird, in speed trials in New York, was able to make 18 knots. This was fast for the time and was probably the result of its modest size, by ocean going standards (174 feet long). The River Bird's speed can be judged by comparison with the speed of the Kin Kiang, also a side-wheeler built in New York for Olyphant & Sons (a New York-China trading family that will be mentioned later) in 1863 for the Yangtze River trade, which was 243 feet long and was considered so fast, at 16 knots, that the War Department issued a challenge to its owners for a race against one of the Navy's fastest steamers. The River Bird left New York on February 5, 1854, reached Macao on May 24 via Cape Verde Islands and the Cape of Good Hope, and was placed into service on the Hong Kong to Canton route.
The backboard labeled "Wham Poa" with a typescript passage from Samuel Eliot Morison's "MARITIME HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 1783-1860" describing the scene.
Original frame, stretcher, restoration to the tack edge, some in painting in sky, generally good condition.
Provenance:
By descent from the consignor's great-great grandfather.
Dimensions:
Sight: 30 3/4 x 57 1/2 in. (78.1 x 146.1 cm.), Frame: 37 1/4 x 63 1/2 in. (94.6 x 161.3 cm.)
Medium:
Oil on Canvas
Sold with Buyer's Premium: $156,250
Estimate: 30,000-50,000
