Colonial Marine Painting Inbound Junk Sailing Boat at the Mouth of the Pearl River, Hong Kong c1914

Colonial Marine Painting Inbound Junk Sailing Boat at the Mouth of the Pearl River, Hong Kong, 1914 Attributed to the Ah Hee Studio / Circle of Ah Hee (Hong Kong School, c.1895–1925)

(Please note: we also have the companion painting Outbound Junk available as a separate listing. If you wish to purchase both together, please do get in touch)

🎨 Subject & Medium
A powerful southern Chinese three-masted junk drives under full sail towards Hong Kong at the mouth of the Pearl River, her red hull cutting through a lively swell beneath a high, hazy South China sky.

Medium: Gouache on paper, dated 1914.

🖌️ Composition & Technique
The composition is dominated by a classic Pearl River Delta trading junk: broad-beamed, high-sterned and built for work as much as for weather. Her distinctive battened lug sails are shown fully set, each panel carefully shaded to convey tension, wind and volume. The stepped masts, long projecting bow and elevated poop deck are all characteristic of the southern coastal trading type, designed to carry heavy cargo between river ports and Hong Kong while remaining manoeuvrable in shifting monsoon conditions.

The junk’s red-painted hull – a colour associated both with anti-fouling protection and with good fortune – stands out vividly against the green-grey water. Rows of ports and hatches, the sweep of the steering gear and the activity of the crew on deck are all depicted with meticulous detail, presenting the vessel not as a generic “Chinese boat” but as a specific, working trading ship.

Choppy, greenish seas are enlivened with brisk strokes of opaque white, creating a convincing impression of spray, movement and forward drive. In the distance, low, mist-softened hills dissolve into a pale horizon, evoking the humid light of the South China Sea and fixing the junk firmly at the mouth of the Pearl River. The technique blends a Chinese, calligraphic treatment of water and sky with Western-style maritime draughtsmanship – a hallmark of Hong Kong export ship portraits.

✒️ Signed
Along the lower edge the work is fully inscribed in English:

• “A. Hean” at lower left

• “Mouth of the Pearl River” at the centre

• “Hong Kong” at lower right

These inscriptions precisely locate the scene and follow the conventions seen on comparable Hong Kong School ship portraits of the period.

👤 About the Artist & Attribution
The painting is attributed to the Ah Hee Studio / Circle of Ah Hee, active in Hong Kong from around 1895 to 1925 and regarded as an important successor to the celebrated Canton workshops of Tingqua and Sunqua. Ah Hee and his associates specialised in harbour views and ship portraits in gouache, created for Western merchants and naval officers wishing to record the vessels and ports associated with their service in the Far East.

The present work, signed “A. Hean”, shows all the characteristics of that atelier: finely observed rigging, an accurate and sympathetic portrayal of the junk’s hull and sail plan, and the familiar English titling format. Painted in 1914, at a time when steamships dominated long-distance trade but traditional junks still plied cargo routes throughout the Pearl River Delta, it belongs to the final flourishing of the China Trade painting tradition.

🖼️ About the Frame
Presented in its period Hong Kong faux-bamboo gilt-wood frame with ochre-gold bevelled mount – a quintessential export presentation. The frame, crafted to imitate bamboo, reflects a fashionable style favoured by the better Queen’s Road Central shops between about 1905 and 1915.

The gold card mount, with its pressed bronze-powder surface, has mellowed attractively over time. To the reverse, a photograph is attached recording the original graphite annotation from the framer:

“2/6 each cut mounts / Oak and a slip / 9 Jul 1914 / 14 + 11 in / To be sent before 6 o’clock.”

This charming note securely dates the framing to Hong Kong, 9 July 1914, the day the work was prepared for export, quite possibly by one of the leading houses such as Lane Crawford & Co. or A.S. Watson & Co.

For modern conservation, the picture has been discreetly re-glazed with AR70 museum-grade UV-filtering glass, preserving the historic frame and mount while providing excellent protection and clarity.

📏 Dimensions (Framed)

• Width: 42 cm

• Height: 35.5 cm

• Depth: 2 cm

A highly manageable, elegant size that sits beautifully in a study, library or on a dedicated maritime collection wall.

📜 Provenance
Painted and inscribed in Hong Kong in July 1914 by a member of the Ah Hee Studio and framed locally, as confirmed by the framer’s inscription. It was almost certainly acquired by a British expatriate or naval officer and brought back to the United Kingdom shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, thereafter remaining in a private U.K. collection by family descent.

In the 21st century it has been curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD and selected for exhibition in:

“Sailing Through Time – Maritime Art of the East”
Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shrewsbury, Autumn 2025.

❤️ Why You’ll Love It
✅ A wonderfully characterful Chinese junk in full sail, showing all the working details of a Pearl River trading vessel – from her battened sails to her bustling deck.
✅ A signed, titled and precisely located Hong Kong School gouache, capturing the mouth of the Pearl River in 1914 at the very close of the age of sail in South China.
✅ A rare time capsule of colonial Hong Kong taste and export art.
✅ Attributed to the influential Ah Hee Studio, continuing the China Trade painting tradition and highly prized by collectors of maritime and Hong Kong art.
✅ Ready to hang – a compact, decorative work that unites Chinese artistry, Western maritime history and the romance of traditional junk boats.

🔍 Condition Report
For a painting executed in 1914, the condition is good. The gouache surface is fresh and stable, with strong, unfaded colour and no disfiguring losses, with some foxing stains visible on close inspection. The gold mount shows gentle, even toning, entirely consistent with age and adding to its period appeal.

The faux-bamboo gilt-wood frame is structurally sound, with an attractive, honest patina. The recent AR70 museum-grade glazing offers excellent clarity and effective UV protection. Overall, this is a clean, well-preserved, historically intact example, ready to hang.