Page 67 - Christie's London China Trade Paintings Kelton Collection

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LAMQUA (FL.1820-1860)
Portrait of the Hong Merchant Howqua, seated small three-quarter length
oil on canvas
11Ω x 9Ωin. (29.2 x 24.1cm.)
£20,000-30,000 US$25,000-37,000
€23,000-34,000

PROVENANCE:
Dennis Longworth.
Anon. sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 10 April 1986, lot 68.
A portrait of the Hong merchant Wu Bingjian, known to the Westerners as Howqua, who was the leader of the Co-hong between
1801 and 1840. As with many of Lamqua's portraits, and those other variants of this painting, it derives from Chinnery: 'These
portraits of Howqua, together with those of Mowqua and other members of the Co-hong, exist in several versions and sizes, from
full-length to head and shoulders ... some in oils and others in gouache. They seem to have had their origin in a group of portraits
executed by Chinnery within a few years of his arrival on the China coast: one of these, a portrait of Howqua, was probably shipped
to England on January 31st 1830. Following and adapting Chinnery's prototypes, Lamqua must have done a brisk business in such
portraits. In particular, the distinctive features of Howqua – domed forehead, hollow cheeks, wispy beard – gained an almost iconic
status, the acceptable face, as it were, of the China trade.' (P. Conner, 'Lamqua Western and Chinese Painter', Arts of Asia, March-
April 1899, p.54). For a variant, see Martyn Gregory, 1998, cat.72, no.120.

In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.