Emperor's Boat
1810
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1810
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Emperor's Boat is a 1810 paint by Unknown, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a huge, ornate boat floating on calm water. Gold dragons curl along the sides. The boat is filled with tiny figures in bright robes. These river scenes were painted in sets, sold as souvenirs. The artist never saw an emperor’s real boat. He painted what he thought a royal boat should look like. Check out more Chinese export art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A rectangular painting depicts an ornate imperial boat on the Pearl River, featuring a central cabin with blue, green, and pink detailing and a tall turret crowned by a yellow flag; inside, the emperor is shown in yellow. At the rear, three triangular yellow flags are visible. The work was part of a set of 50 mass-produced images of Pearl River vessels, likely imagined rather than observed, as Emperor Jiaqing did not visit Canton during this period.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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