Canton School Golden Pheasant

An original 18th-century Chinese export watercolour painting, Canton School, Golden Pheasant.

An outstanding and impressive (24 x 35cm) late-18th-century Canton School watercolour painting on paper depicting a golden pheasant.

In Chinese culture, the golden pheasant is thought to be the descendent of the phoenix, and represents auspiciousness. In the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), the robes of high-ranked bureaucrats were emblazoned with images of the golden pheasant as a symbol of their power and authority.

Beginning in the late 18th century, centred on the treaty port of Canton (Guangzhou), there existed a thriving trade in ethnographical watercolours executed by local Chinese artists and sold to western merchants and travellers.

These works typically depict Chinese traditional customs, occupations, manufacture and trades, boats, plants and animals, and they blend Chinese and European painting techniques, resulting in a unique mix of artistic styles. The pheasant in this painting is executed in a detailed and realistic manner which shows the influence of Western tastes for natural history illustration and scientific realism on Chinese artists at this time.

This watercolour painting is a particularly high quality example; it is painted on very delicate laid paper, which was customary for paintings dating from the early period (late 18th and early 19th century), when works were particularly fine and specifically produced using the highest standards for wealthy Europeans. Later in the 19th century the paper was usually thicker, catering for a wider mass-market.