Traditional Colonial Marine Painting Junk Sailing Ship Pearl River Kong Kong

Traditional Nautical Colonial Marine Painting – Inbound Junk 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 contact us directly.)
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 punching through a lively swell beneath a high, hazy South China sky.
Medium: Gouache on paper, 1914.
Composition & Technique
The artist centres the composition on a classic Pearl River Delta trading junk: broad-beamed, high-sterned and built for serious sea work. Her distinctive battened lug sails are shown fully set, each panel carefully shaded to suggest tension and wind. The stepped masts, long projecting bow and high poop deck are all typical of the southern coastal trading type, designed to carry heavy cargo between the river ports and Hong Kong while remaining agile in shifting monsoon conditions.
The junk’s red-painted hull – a colour associated both with anti-fouling treatments and good fortune – stands out vividly against the green-grey water. Rows of ports and hatches, the sweep of the steering gear and the bustle of crew on deck are rendered with meticulous care, presenting the vessel not as a generic “Chinese boat” but as a specific, working trading ship.
Choppy, greenish seas are animated with quick strokes of opaque white, giving a convincing sense of spray and forward motion. In the distance, low, misted hills dissolve into a pale horizon, capturing the humid luminosity of the South China Sea and fixing the junk precisely in the mouth of the Pearl River. The technique combines Chinese calligraphic handling of water and sky with Western-style maritime draughtsmanship, a hallmark of Hong Kong export ship portraits.
Signature & Inscriptions
Along the lower edge the work is fully inscribed in English: “A. Hean” at lower left, “Mouth of the Pearl River” at the centre, and “Hong Kong” at lower right. These inscriptions give the work its exact setting and match the conventions seen on comparable Hong Kong School ship portraits of the period.
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 great Canton workshops of Tingqua and Sunqua. Ah Hee and his associates specialised in harbour views and ship portraits painted in gouache for Western merchants, naval officers and travellers who wished to record the vessels and ports of their service in the Far East.
The present work, signed “A. Hean”, displays all the hallmarks of that atelier: precise rigging, a sensitive but accurate handling of the junk’s distinctive hull and sail plan, and the familiar English inscription format. Painted in 1914, when steamships dominated long-distance trade but traditional junks still carried cargo throughout the Pearl River Delta, it belongs firmly to the final phase of the China Trade painting tradition.
Frame & Presentation
The painting is preserved in its original Hong Kong faux-bamboo gilt-wood frame with an ochre-gold bevelled mount – a classic and highly desirable export presentation. Finished to imitate bamboo, the frame reflects a fashionable style favoured by the better Queen’s Road Central shops between about 1905 and 1915.
The gold card mount has a pressed bronze-powder surface that has mellowed gently over time. On the reverse, a photograph of the original backing card records the framer’s graphite annotation, including the note:
“2/6 each cut mounts / Oak and a slip / 9 Jul 1914 / 14 + 11 in / To be sent before 6 o’clock.”
This charming job note ties the framing securely to Hong Kong on 9 July 1914, the day the work was prepared for export, probably 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: 42 cm wide × 35.5 cm high × 2 cm deep
A highly manageable, elegant size that sits beautifully in a study, library or on a maritime collector’s wall.
Provenance
Painted and inscribed in Hong Kong in July 1914 by a member of the Ah Hee Studio, the work was framed there on 9 July 1914, as confirmed by the framer’s inscription on the original backing card. It was almost certainly acquired by a British expatriate or naval officer and taken back to the United Kingdom shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, remaining thereafter 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 at the Lord Hill Museum, Shrewsbury, Autumn 2025.
Why This Painting Stands Out
A wonderfully characterful Chinese junk in full sail, showing all the details of a working Pearl River trading vessel – from her battened sails to her busy working deck.
A signed, titled and precisely located Hong Kong School gouache, depicting the mouth of the Pearl River in 1914 at the very end of the age of sail in South China.
A rare time capsule of colonial Hong Kong taste.
Attributed to the influential Ah Hee Studio, carrying forward the China Trade painting tradition and highly regarded by collectors of maritime, China Trade and Hong Kong art.
A ready-to-hang piece that unites Chinese craftsmanship, Western maritime history and the romance of traditional junk voyages in a single, compact and highly decorative work – especially effective when paired with the matching “outbound” view.
Condition Report
For a painting executed in 1914, the condition is good. The gouache surface is stable and well preserved, with strong, clear colour and no disfiguring losses, with some foxing visible on close inspection. The gold mount shows gentle, even toning, entirely consistent with age and adding to its period charm. The faux-bamboo gilt-wood frame is structurally sound, with an attractive, honest patina. Recent AR70 museum-grade glazing provides excellent clarity and effective UV protection. Overall, this is a clean, well-preserved, historically intact example, ready to hang.
Click “Buy It Now” to secure this Hong Kong marine masterpiece for your collection, or explore our gallery Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD to discover more hand-picked treasures.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss acquiring this work together with its companion Outbound Junk, please feel free to send us a message.