A CHINESE EXPORT IVORY MODEL OF A PLEASURE BOAT

A CHINESE EXPORT IVORY MODEL OF A PLEASURE BOAT, GUANGDONG (CANTON), QING DYNASTY, LATE 18TH C the hull straked, the upper deck structures with finely carved and pierced sides, several pairs of opening grilles to the windows, divisions and canopies, the principal of the several cabins divided by a screen flanking two entrances up steps to a presence chamber with a seated mandarin and his consort, both it and the adjoining larger 'Saloon' with others of his retinue, the furnishings including an altar table, stands set with cups, a table screen, chandelier and ornamental plants in tubs, a similar smaller pavilion on the roof above, the exterior with the figures of six quanters and other servants, the figures and smaller items also of ivory and painted in polychrome, pairs of pierced lanterns fore and aft and poles with flags of the same faded red silk that in part hangs at the two open entrances, with pierced rudder, 34cm h, 74cm l overall, mounted on an early wooden base beneath glazed brass case, 40cm h; 34 x 80cmProvenance: Acquired c1770-c1800 by a member of the Thornton family of Clapham and by descent to Charles Conway Thornton (1851-1902); his widow Mary Diana Conway Thornton, nee Thornton-Wodehouse (1854-1948); acquired by the family of the present vendor in the early 20th c.This magnificent model pleasure boat exemplifies the supreme class of Chinese Export ivory carving from Guangdong (Canton) during the second half of the 18th c and first few years of the 19th c. Surprisingly large and extraordinarily detailed, they represent the type of elaborate pleasure boat of intricate openwork on which Chinese dignitaries such as the 'Tartar General' as well as European merchants diverted themselves along the estuaries and waterways between Canton and Whampoa. For the Europeans, who were confined to the waterfront such excursions, musical parties afloat and other entertainments proved especially welcome. It may be the case that Lord Macartney's Embassy to China travelled on one in his voyage to secure a treaty of friendship from Qianlong in 1792.Comparable ivory models of the period, variously described in contemporary inventories as Pleasure Boats, Junks and 'Sampands' are in major collections; see for example that delivered by Dr J J Garnett to the Prince Regent in 1804, "One ivory flower boat with a war junk cost £105" (illustrated J Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of H M The Queen, No 2058); the pair of "Royal Junks" at Osterley Park (National Trust) described in the 1782 inventory of Child Family Heirlooms as "L[ong] Galleries: Two Indian [sic] Sampands of ivory... in plate glass cases in brass frames"; and the examples in the Victoria & Albert Museum obtained by Richard Hall (1764-1834) of the HEIC, Chief Supercargo at Canton until his return to England in 1802.The present example has a particularly interesting and eventful provenance.In 1909 it was the subject of a court case, the unusual nature of which caused it to be extensively reported not only in the Westminster Gazette and London Standard Newspapers but also by the Australian and Canadian press. The then owner, Mrs Thornton claimed the model had been damaged whilst supposedly in a warehouse at Southampton. Her late husband, a diplomat had displayed it at the British Embassy in Lisbon until, on his being posted to Budapest, it was packed and sent to England. For reasons unknown it was not called for by the storage firm to which it was destined and was subsequently sold by the railway company in a lost property auction for six shillings, being bought by one Oddy a dealer. When discovered the storage firm swiftly persuaded Oddy to part with it, paying him £105. The court heard that "someone injured the junk by pushing his fingers through the filigree work" at the auction, which it seems was little better organised than a jumble sale.Mrs Thornton, who was reported to be 'tall and stately dressed in black' gave evidence, as did Lady McDonald the widow of the British Ambassador, who recalled the pleasure boat had stood in the Gallery at the top of the Staircase at the embassy in Lisbon, where "it was an object of much interest to the Portuguese". Several 'experts' were called who stated the value of the model in its undamaged condition would have been £300-400 but that it was now of negligible worth. A professional valuer, W H Fenton of Oxford Street assessed it at £60 undamaged and now £50. The court uphold Mrs Thornton's claim and awarded her 50 guineas in compensation.As to its earlier provenance, in her deposition Mrs Thornton stated the model had been an heirloom of the Thornton family "for about 150 years" and had been presented to a member of that family by "an ex cabinet minister". It is here suggested that it was owned by her husband's paternal great grandfather Samuel Thornton (1754-1838), who either acquired it himself or from one or other of his brothers, or their father.Samuel Thornton and his brothers, Henry and Robert were wealthy evangelical Christians, philanthropists, abolitionists and members of parliament who resided in close proximity to one another at Clapham where, with William Wilberforce, they formed the nucleus of the so-called Clapham Sect. Samuel Thronton was a director and later Governor of the Bank of England for a period of over 50 years. Henry was also a banker and economist and Robert, perhaps significantly, was a director of the HEIC. The brothers' father, John Thornton (1720-1790) also a devout Anglican who deployed his wealth to evangelical purposes, is best known as the sponsor of the ex- slave trader-turned clergyman, the Rev. John Newton (author of 'Amazing Grace'). The Thorntons were therefore unusually well placed to have acquired so costly an object in London, whether by purchase or as Mrs Thornton asserted, by gift.