Duck Boat
1810
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1810
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Duck Boat is a 1810 paint by Unknown, a Chinese Orthodox School work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a duck boat floating on calm water. The boat is long and low, with a covered cabin at one end. Ducks peek out from holes in the sides. Duck boats were real working boats in China’s Pearl River. Farmers lived on them while raising ducks. These boats had tiny stoves for cooking and hatches for the birds. Look for more old Chinese paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting depicts a duck boat, a vessel designed to serve as both home and transport for raising ducks, common along the Pearl River. The rectangular composition shows the boat with side panels and a stern flap used to release grey ducks into the water. Part of a set of 50 mass-produced images, it was likely sold as a souvenir. The scene reflects the densely populated waterways described by Lord George Macartney during his 18th-century visit to Canton.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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