tankard BM-Franks.613

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1784-1785 (Dated.)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:harbour/port boat/ship
Dimensions:Height: 10.10 centimetres Weight: 0.30 kilograms Width: 12.40 centimetres (including handle)

Description:
Sepia-painted mug commemorating the anchorage of a Swedish trading ship in Chinese waters. The mug is slightly flared towards the base and the handle has a ‘ruyi’ terminal. It is painted in sepia with a harbour view showing a large boat under a prominent Swedish flag among other boats against a backdrop of hilly countryside with some houses, also under a Swedish flag, near the shore. The rim has a gold border. Around the base runs a Swedish inscription written in black reading “Utsigt of hamnen Gnalong belagen pa on Hajnan, aftagen daSkept Gustaf Adolph darstades gorde ofwerligande resa fr. d. 8 Decemb. 1784, tild. 21 Apr. 1785” which can be translated “View from the harbour Gnalong situated on the island Hainan, taken while the ship Gustaf Adolph lay there at anchor from 8th December, 1784, to 21st April, 1785”.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The Swedish East India Company, founded in 1731, reached a peak of its shipments of Chinese porcelain to Sweden in the period between 1766 and 1786, during which this piece was commissioned. According to a letter written from the ship on 9th December, 1784, the Swedish East Indiaman Gustaf Adolph was forced to go into harbour due to adverse winds and lack of fresh water (Kjellberg, 1975, p. 208). This mug appears to be unique, but a related plate in the Historiska Museum, Gbteborg, Sweden, painted en grisaille, is inscribed with the name of the same ship and with the same dates, and shows a map with a coast line and a large bay inscribed ‘Gnalong’ (Hervouet and Bruneau, 1986, no. 1.22). The ship appears to have anchored in the Bay of Gallong on the south coast of Hainan island, on its way to Canton, and this mug and plate appear to have been commissioned as souvenirs of this unforeseen stopover.