Page 10 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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conversations that summer with Joseph Ting, the fall of 2013, in addition to Hong Kong and
Assistant Professor in Chinese History at the Guangzhou, I also visited Macao for archival
Chinese University Hong Kong and former research. In Macao, it became clear to me that
curator at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and there were no useful archival sources about the
Jiang Yinghe, Professor in the Department of Dutch who lived in Macao as traders in the
History at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou nineteenth century. However, to my delight,
and author of Western painting and Canton port I found that in this triangle of once booming
during the Qing period. China trade cities enjoying the attention of
I will never forget the exchange of views, at academics, there is a vivid interest for the subject
that time, with John Clark, Director of the of ‘historical China trade’. The initiative to
Australian Centre of Asian Art and Archaeology, establish the Thirteen Hongs Research Centre III
Professor at the University of Sydney and, in at the School of Humanities of Guangzhou
2007, Guest Professor at Leiden University. In University in 2009, is a concrete example of this.
his own way, he emphasised the importance of At the invitation of Ellen Cai, a Leiden
the concept of local modernity (further University PhD alumna and affiliated with this
explained later). Furthermore, his ideas about centre as a researcher, I gave a lecture at
Western-style painting in China and the Guangzhou University in November 2013. 9
influence of the Jesuits at that time on Chinese Furthermore, the provincial Guangdong
painting through contacts and distribution and Museum, established a number of years ago,
the art historical discourse gave me a new insight also pays great attention to the old China trade
into the material. 7 era. I can still remember my visit to the
No research into this kind of Chinese export interesting exhibition Chinese export fine art in
art would be complete without a visit to the the Qing Dynasty from the Guangdong
collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Museum. What a wealth of artistic material
Salem in the United States. This collection, culture! With the opening of the Guangzhou
which I visited in 2010, is known as the largest, Council for Promotion of the Culture of the
most famous and internationally significant one Thirteen Hongs at the Guangzhou Culture Park
among other public historical collections with on Shamian Island in 2013, the city is
decorative art produced in China, Japan and underlining once again the importance of this
India for export to other cultures. The museum’s period and has made it possible to communicate
roots date back to the 1799 founding of the East this history to a broad public. The enthusiasm in
India Marine Society, an organization of Salem Guangzhou for research into this specific time in
captains and supercargoes, who brought to Chinese history and the related art products was
Salem a diverse collection of objects from Asia contagious.
and elsewhere. I was received most kindly and There have been a number of people at Leiden
given a tour by Karina Corrigan, the H.A. University who continue to be an important
Crosby Forbes curator of Asian export art, and source of inspiration. Firstly, Kitty Zijlmans,
we examined the collection’s acclaimed albums Professor of Contemporary Art History and
of Van Braam Houckgeest. 8 Theory/World Art Studies. I could not have
Subsequently, in 2013, it was the turn of the wished for a better supervisor. From the
collections in London. The visits to the depots of beginning of my studies in Art History, I found
the British Library, the British Museum and the the content of her seminars on the different
V&A, with globally renowned icons of Chinese methods of art historical research instructive and
painting, were impressive. Being face to face I have utilised them in the research for this
with world-renowned paintings sometimes gave dissertation. In addition, her inspiring leadership
me goosebumps. The assistance of Jennifer of the biannual PhD afternoons at the Leiden
Howes (BL), Clarissa von Spee (BM) and University Centre for the Arts in Society
Xiaoxin Li (V&A) in this regard was (LUCAS) always left me feeling excited and full
heartwarming. of ideas on my way home afterwards. She
On a second visit to the South China coast, in understands better than anyone the art of asking

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7 Clark 2005, 11-33, 49-69.
8 Karina H. Corrigan lectures and publishes on many aspects of Asian export art and the material culture of global
connections. She organises exhibitions as, among others, Asia in Amsterdam: The culture of luxury in the Golden
Age, which the Peabody Essex Museum has co-organised with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in 2016.
9 In this lecture, I treated the set of three Chinese export harbour views from the Royer collection, which have
been exhibited in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam since its reopening in 2013.