Unknown Chinese Artist
20 ¾ x 15 in
The original Cantonese carved giltwood frames: 60 x 45 cm each
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Provenance
Spanish Private CollectionMartyn Gregory, London
Exhibitions
Martyn Gregory, China in the Frame, London, 2020-2021, cat. no. 75, p. 73
Top left: 'Muger de Sopu, o Administrador general de Aduana / en
China' ('Wife of Sopu, Administrator-general of Customs in China')
Top right: 'Muger de sastre' ('Tailor's wife')
Bottom left: 'Labrador' ('Labourer')
Bottom right: 'Laypu Song Su / Primer Ministro de la Corte de Pekin' ('First minister of the Court at Peking')
The painting of the 'Labrador' depicts a man pounding rice on a foot powered grinder which operates a stone mortar. A similar image by Puqua executed circa 1790 in watercolour from a set of 100 depicting different trades and occupations in Canton can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession no. D.120-1898).
Export goods were mainly produced for markets in England and the Netherlands in the 18th and 19th centuries and while there was some production for export to other countries, particularly items such as porcelain goods, it is rare to find paintings produced for export to Spain.