FDA-D.81-2010
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.81-2010
Object type
Identification
Title
Tien-kang, Son of the Captain of a Junk on which the Artist Travelled up the Pei-ho River
Study of a young chinaman
Whiteley
Study of a young chinaman
Whiteley
Title Type
assigned by cataloguer
Previous title
collection
Previous title
collection
Comments
The son of a coachbuilder from Maidstone, Alexander came to London in 1782 and studied with Ibbetson before entering the Royal Academy Schools in 1784. He was recommended by his former teacher, who had accompanied a previous, abortive mission to China in 1787, as draughtsman to Lord Macartney, whose embassy to the Imperial Chinese court in Peking left London in 1792. The two ships reached China in May 1793 and remained there ten months, during which time, the party travelled widely in the country. Alexander's portrait of the son of the master of the junk he travelled on along the Grand Canal, south of Peking, is one of a number of revealing character studies of the Chinese he encountered. John Barrow, another member of the party, later recalled, 'Mr Alexander drew beautifully and faithfully in watercolours, and omitted nothing that was Chinese, from the human face and figure, down to the humblest plant, so true were his delineations that nothing before or since could be compared with them' (quoted in William Alexander; an English artist in Imperial China, Brighton Art Gallery, 1981, p.9). When sold in 1976, this portrait was said to have come from 'an album originally in the possession of Lord Macartney'; another version of similar size was sold at Sotherby's, 20 November 1986 (lot 92).
Other number
MFW 2
Description
Content (note)
Three-quarter-length, with his arms crossed
Dimensions
height: 383mm
width: 231mm
width: 231mm
Inscription description
Signed with initials 'W.A.' (lower left) and inscribed 'Tien-kang' and with Chinese characters (upper right), and inscribed 'Portrait of TienKiang son to the Captain of our Junk/Pay-ho, Augt. 15 1793' (on the reverse)
Materials & techniques note
pencil and watercolour
Production
Person
Alexander, William, 1767 - 1816 (Artist)
Date
Aug 15 1793
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: Collection of George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney; collection of a private collector; by whom sold through Sotheby's, 1 April 1976; by whom purchased by Martin Whiteley; by whom bequeathed to Eton College
Exhibited: 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 51
Exhibited: 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 51
Previous ownership
Whiteley, Martin F, 1930 - 1984: Purchased by Martin Whiteley in 1976 and bequeathed by him to Eton in 1984
Macartney, George, 1st Earl Macartney (1st Earl Macartney), 1737 - 1806: This portrait was said to have come from an album originally in the possession of Lord Macartney, British Ambassador to China; it was subsequently acquired by a private collector c. 1930; his sale Sotheby's 1st April 1976. Another version of similar size was sold at Sotherby's, 20 November 1986 (lot 92)
Macartney, George, 1st Earl Macartney (1st Earl Macartney), 1737 - 1806: This portrait was said to have come from an album originally in the possession of Lord Macartney, British Ambassador to China; it was subsequently acquired by a private collector c. 1930; his sale Sotheby's 1st April 1976. Another version of similar size was sold at Sotherby's, 20 November 1986 (lot 92)
References
• Wilcox, T., A Genius for Watercolour; Watercolours from the Eton College Collection, Christie's exhibition catalogue, London, 2003 (pp. 60-61, no. 51)
• Ryan, H., Hidden Treasures, W.S. Fine Art exhibition catalogue, 2010 (pp. 38-39, no. 14)
• Ryan, H., Hidden Treasures, W.S. Fine Art exhibition catalogue, 2010 (pp. 38-39, no. 14)
