Pair of Chinese export watercolours of architectural "Views of China

Canton (Guangzhou) workshop, 1810. Watercolour and (opaque) body-colour with ink on thick chinese paper depicitng 1.) A Temple Compound and 2.) An Imperial Pleasure Garden. Sheet size: 16 1/8 x 22 inches. An exceptional pair of Chinese export watercolours, rich in architectural detail, exemplifying the pictorial conventions developed to frame China for European eyes.

A fine pair of large-scale architectural fantasy views, produced in a Canton workshop for the export trade at the height of the China Trade period. The compositions exemplify the hybrid artistic language developed for Western patrons by Chinese painters trained in native techniques (truncated) yet attuned to foreign tastes for picturesque and monumental subjects. The first painting depicts a two-courtyard Buddhist or Taoist temple approached through a three-bay shan-men (ceremonial gateway), flanked symmetrically by drum and bell towers. A painted screen wall in the inner court displays guardian deities in brilliant red, while the gilded Buddha presides from an elevated rear hall. The temples architecture is stylized but evocative of southern Chinese religious compounds. Above the gateway, a plaque bears brush-written characters reading "Beautiful Hall of Profound Reverence," a fictive name likely invented by the workshop for decorative effect rather than to identify a specific site. The second painting shows a walled palace complex centered around a multi-tiered pavilion rising from a lotus pond filled with sculptural rocks and pleasure boats. Dragon grottoes, stone causeways, and ornamental bridges evoke the fantastical terrain of imperial parks such as the Yuanmingyuan, rendered here in a compressed, stage-set perspective. White elephants bearing crimson banners guard the main gate, signaling a courtly or ceremonial setting. While reminiscent of northern gardens, the details are compositional inventions rather than topographical records. The palette (vermilion, malachite green, gamboge, and carbon black) and the use of crisp ink outlines are typical of late 18th-century Canton export workshops. Unlike smaller pith-paper images destined for albums, these works were painted on thick laid paper of generous dimensions. Loose drawings such as these were often compiled into custom albums in British India, where Chinese watercolours were often combined with Indian and Persian material to appeal to the tastes of British collectors. The Persian-Urdu foliation on the verso indicates their inclusion in such a collection, likely assembled in Calcutta or Lucknow in the early 19th century. While drawing upon recognizable architectural forms and cultural symbols, the views are best understood as imaginary or composite constructions designed to satisfy European curiosity about China. The temple compound reflects generic southern typologies, while the palace garden borrows selectively from northern models such as the Yuanmingyuan. (Inventory #: 38599)