Man Collecting Dung
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Man Collecting Dung is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a man in loose robes, squatting to gather dung into a woven basket. It’s part of a set of 100 images made in Canton around 1790. Europeans bought these to see how Chinese people worked and lived. People used dung like this for fertilizer to grow more food. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more of these trade scenes.
A rectangular watercolor painting from 1790 depicts a man in blue engaged in collecting dung with a thin stick and basket, part of a set of 100 works illustrating trades in Canton. Created for European audiences curious about Chinese society, the scene highlights the practical use of dung as fertilizer. The work was acquired from Parsons & Sons and entered the collection in 1898.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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