Boy Selling Sundry Goods
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Boy Selling Sundry Goods is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a barefoot boy in simple clothes, standing against a plain background. He’s holding a woven basket filled with small items—maybe snacks or trinkets—and his face has a calm, slightly smiling expression. The colors are muted, with soft grays and browns, and the lines are clean but not overly detailed. The boy’s outfit and the basket suggest he might be a street vendor, selling everyday things. The painting feels simple but careful, with smooth shading that gives his face and clothes a gentle shape. If you like this style, look up Romanticism next to see how artists focused on everyday life and emotion.
A rectangular watercolour painting titled *Boy Selling Sundry Goods* by Puqua from 1790 depicts a central figure in black holding a tray with various goods. The work is part of a set of 100 paintings illustrating different trades and occupations in Canton. It was acquired from Parsons & Sons and accessioned into the collection in 1898, as recorded in the Asia Department registers during a 2022 provenance research project.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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