FINE CHINA TRADE PAITNINGS FROM MARTYN GREGORY, LONDON, PART II
SPOILUM (ACTIVE 1770-1805)
Portrait of a Hong Merchant of Canton Oil on canvas, framed. 70cm (27 1/2in) high x 52cm (20 1/2in) wide.
史貝霖（約活躍于1770-1805） 廣東行商肖像 布面油畫 有框
Provenance: Richard Milhender, Boston, Massachusetts Acquired from the above by Martyn Gregory, London An American private collection Martyn Gregory, London
Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: C.Crossman, The Decorative Arts of the China Trade, Woodbridge, 1991, p.46, col.pl.10 Martyn Gregory, A China Voyage: Historical Pictures by Chinese and Western Artists, 1780-1950, catalogue 79, London, 2002, pp.104-105, no.92 P.A. van Dyke, 'Weaver Suckin and the Canton Silk Trade 1750-1781', Review of Culture, International Edition 29，2009, p.107 Martyn Gregory, George Chinnery, Artist of Macau: Historical Pictures by Western and Eastern Artists on the China Coast, catalogue 103, London, 2023, p.52, no.47
展覽著錄：C.Crossman，《The Decorative Arts of the China Trade》，伍德布里奇，1991年，第46頁，圖版10 Martyn Gregory，《A China Voyage: Historical Pictures by Chinese and Western Artists, 1780-1950, catalogue 79》，倫敦，2002年，第104-105，編號92 P.A. van Dyke，《Weaver Suckin and the Canton Silk Trade 1750-1781》，《Review of Culture》，國際版29，2009年, 第107頁 Martyn Gregory，《George Chinnery, Artist of Macau: Historical Pictures by Western and Eastern Artists on the China Coast, catalogue 103》，倫敦，2023年，第52頁，編號47
From the mid-1780s until the first few years of the nineteenth century, Spoilum painted portraits in oils on canvas; generally these were half-lengths, like the present example, and his subjects comprised both Western and Chinese sitters. Faces are usually seen in half right profile, clearly outlined and with a degree of modelling which was congenial to Western tastes.
Spoilum's Chinese subjects were often members of the 'Co-Hong' - the group of a dozen wealthy Cantonese merchants who dealt directly with the Westerners, and were responsible for their good conduct. The present portrait is probably one of these. The rank of a 'Hong merchant' (and other civil officials) might be indicated by the colour and quality of his hat-button; in this case the blue hat-button should denote an official of the third, fourth or fifth grade, there being nine categories in all. Status was also conveyed by the rank badge attached to the surcoat, each civil grade being indicated by a particular species of bird - here perhaps a goose (fourth rank).
Although the sitter in the present portrait remains unidentified, his facial features bear a resemblance in a number of other portraits. These include a Hong merchant portrait by Spoilum, illustrated by F.D.Grant Jr., The Chinese Cornerstone of Modern Banking: The Canton Guaranty System and the Origins of Band Deposit Insurance 1780-1933, Leiden, 2014, pl.13, p.149; as well as another portrait of a Hong merchant by a follower of Spoilum, which was sold at Christie's New York, 25 January, 2011, lot 151.
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