Title
Chinese and foreign merchants in Canton
Year/Period
Early 19th century
Region
Canton
Material
Dimension
Frame size: 45.0 x 54.9 x 3.5 cm,
Image size: 22.5 x 32.7 cm
Image size: 22.5 x 32.7 cm
Accession No.
2017-00424
Collection of
A Parsi merchant, with his colourful turban, European man in a tophat, and Chinese men with long hair queues participate in some as yet unknown activity. The Parsi community was present in Canton by the mid-18th century, helping to facilitate the British-dominated China trade by importing opium and cotton from India into China, while exporting tea and silk back to Europe and beyond. By the 19th century, there was a sizeable community of Europeans.
