Art Institute of Chicago

Punch Bowl

Artist unknown (Chinese, made for the American market)

Date

c. 1789

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain, glaze, enamels in colors, gilding

Culture

China

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Chinese officials limited all international trading to the city of Canton, and segregated foreigners within a 15-acre area. Decorated in grisaille, or monochrome, the exterior of this punch bowl shows the 13 trade buildings, known as hongs (foreign factories), that lined this restricted area. Each building was associated with a particular country, and they doubled as counting houses and living quarters, where agents resided during the fall trading season. In this view of the hongs, the American factory lies between those of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, suggesting that this was an early rendering, made before the United States permanently established its factory next to Sweden’s.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.