IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 185610 accession number: 4170.8 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Friday 7 October 2011 updated: Thursday 23 January 2025 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: In later imperial China, there were two types of sea-going ships, the Cantonese style black cargo ship and the Fujian type white cargo ship. The black and white cargo ships cross the seas, or sail along the coast. This illustration depicts a Guangdong type large cargo ship with three masts. At the bow, we see carved and painted a red head and a large eye, like a right whale. For the large eyes presentation, C. Toogood Downing has the following description, "Among the great variety of large junks... you are able to distinguish two classes: those with an eye, and those without one. All the rivercraft need it seems no such organ; but those junks which are intended to go out to sea are all ornamented with a large eye, painted on each side of the bows. Whether it is considered that the sea-vessels are more liable to run against obstacles, which this large eye, that cannot be closed night or day, may enable them to evade, when the human one is closed in sleep, it is impossible to decide. It may be a piece of superstitions founded upon almost primitive simplicity. It is believed that this painted eye could bona fide perceive objects, discriminate between them, and avoid dangers. At the stern, there is a design of a "yi" bird (a fabulous bird resembling an egret). On the central mast there is a carp streamer and fair wind streamer. On the end mast, there hangs a "divine flag". There are two similar copies at V&A (8655.6 and D.1254-1887) and another one at British Library (Add. Or. 2025). Previously described as "tribute boat". title: drawing LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185610 TECHNIQUES ---------- watercolour, bodycolour and ink with heightening in white on pith paper, laid down with with strips of blue silk-covered paper drawing CATEGORIES ------ category: drawing DATING ------ creation date: 1840 - 1870 creation date earliest: 1840 creation date latest: 1870 culture: 19th Century CREATORS -------- maker: Youqua DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Height units: mm value: 250 dimension: Width units: mm value: 337 IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/large_4170_288_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 817 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/mid_4170_288_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 399 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/4170_288_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 818 pixels width: 1025 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/preview_4170_288_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg height: 200 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/604/355/large_4170_8__201106_amt49_mas.jpg height: 773 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/604/355/mid_4170_8__201106_amt49_mas.jpg height: 377 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/604/355/4170_8__201106_amt49_mas.jpg height: 4008 pixels width: 5312 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/604/355/preview_4170_8__201106_amt49_mas.jpg height: 189 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/622/995/large_4170_8__201106_amt49_dc1.jpg height: 817 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/622/995/mid_4170_8__201106_amt49_dc1.jpg height: 399 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/4170(8)_201106_amt49_dc1.jpg surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/622/995/preview_4170_8__201106_amt49_dc1.jpg height: 199 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: zoom format: pyramid tiff location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/622/995/4170_8__201106_amt49_dc1.ptif height: 3885 pixels width: 4871 pixels