Prints

Paris: Goupil & Vibert

This charming landscape print depicts the bay and island of Hong Kong. Borget describes the bay as "one of the most vast and magnificent I have ever seen in China". Appearing in the book La Chine et les Chinois, Borget describes the scene in his writings - "The next day I landed on the North-east, close by a promontory, where there are several houses, to which are attached wheels for the purpose of withdrawing the fishing-nets, and which gave to the place quite a peculiar character." The wheels as described are visible in this sketch. Shortly after the artist's visit, the island of Hong Kong was ceded to the British in the aftermath of the First Opium War.
The print is in very good condition with wide margins as issued. Minor chips to some corners and tears to the margins, not affecting the image. Beautifully done hand coloring and bright white paper makes for a lovely and clear image.

The French artist Auguste Borget (1809-1877) exhibited often in the Paris Salon, but he is best known for his lithographs of China made in the late 1830s and 1840s. Bourget visited Macao and Southern China  as part of a world tour and painted and sketched a number of views during his two year stay on the China coast..

Framed.