Picturing Cathay

This catalogue accompanies an exhibition of held at the University Museum and Art Gallery. It includes over 100 full colour illustrations of ‘China Trade’ paintings and export art works dating from the later 18th to 19th centuries. The exhibition focuses upon the importance of maritime trade in encouraging cultural contact between East and West, and in the development of Chinese export art. The works in the exhibition and catalogue include early paintings and drawings that were intended to document China and portraits of the people and vessels that were involved in the China Trade. The majority of the paintings are port scenes of Canton and other later ‘treaty ports’ while others depict the Chinese and their way of life. A number of export items including ceramics and carvings are also included. The catalogue contains three essays by William Shang, Patrick Conner, and William Sargent on the historical importance of Chinese export art, the artist George Chinnery, and China Trade paintings for the American market. The catalogue is bilingual English-Chinese and includes a bibliography and glossary.