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A tea hong at Canton: 4167.12

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An image of Drawing
An image of Drawing
Current Location: In storage

Titles

A tea hong at Canton

Maker(s)

Youqua

Entities

Categories

Description

A watercolour drawing from the album 4167, which depicts the tea industry in China. It shows workers stamping on tea leaves in chests, while a 'hong' merchant negotiates with an European buyer. 'Hong' merchants was authorise by the Qing court to trade with Europeans. The junk in the background would transport the tea to a western vessel at Whampoa Anchorage. Until the 1850s, China was the world's only tea supplier to the West. The trade was centred in Guangzhou (Canton), where Chinese merchants known as Hong merchants were the only authorized traders to deal with foreign companies. The tea trade operated under the "Canton System," which strictly regulated foreign trade through designated merchants and specific protocols.

Measurements and weight

Height: 250 mm
Width: 337 mm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1909) by Bothamley, Rev. H.

Dating

19th Century
Circa 1840 - Circa 1870

School or Style

Chinese
Chinese export art

Materials used in production

Watercolour
Bodycolour
White highlights
Ink

Components of the work

Support composed of pith paper

Techniques used in production

Drawing : Watercolour, bodycolour, and ink with heightening in white on pith paper, laid down with with strips of blue silk-covered paper

Identification numbers

Accession number: 4167.12
Primary reference Number: 185601

Audit data

Created: Tuesday 4 October 2011 Updated: Thursday 28 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "A tea hong at Canton" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185601 Accessed: 2025-12-05 19:25:30

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185601 |title=A tea hong at Canton |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 19:25:30|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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