A fine and early Chinese scroll painting of the Hongs of Guangzhou (Canton), gouache on silk, c.1770, of unusually large size, painted with an early view of the European factories on Hog Lane, with the Danish, French, Swedish, English, and Dutch flags aloft with European and Chinese traders and officials outside, the Creek to the East of the Dutch factory, the foreground depicting numerous moored Chinese junks and trading vessels including a pleasure craft inscribed `Mingyang` to the rear,

gouache on silk laid on a paper scroll,

image 91.5cm x 276.5 cm.

Provenance: Acquired by Alexander Hume, Supercargo with the Honourable East India Company in Canton (1758-64) and then Chief of the factory (1770-73), and thence by family descent.

Alexander Hume served in the Honourable East India Company for many years, with documents held in the East India Library stating that he was "third in council at Calcutta." and then "was for many years the Chief of an English Factory at Canton".

The painting, which dates from around 1770 was probably commissioned by Hume around the time of his promotion to Chief of the factory.

The date is confirmed by the as yet un-widened path separating the factories from the waterfront and the white Bourbon family flag, representing the French Hong, which was changed to the familiar tricolour in 1790.

Literature: for a similar view almost certainly by the same artist see Conner, Patrick., `The Hongs of Canton` (English Art Books, London, 2009), pp.42-43, pl. 2.17 and pl. 2.18.

According to Carl L. Crossman in his book Decorative Arts of the China Trade, 1991, there are similar paintings in the Peabody collection, Museum of Salem and the British Museum. He notes that the porch supports of the British Factory are still slender columns and not the enclosed arches with columns of the 1780s. In common with these two scrolls the Alexander Hume scroll is impressive in size and extremely accurate in detail and delicate in palette.