Description of A Man Striking a Loo or Gong

Pasted into this leatherbound volume are the original watercolours for one of the earliest illustrated books on Chinese customs to be published in English. At the back is the author’s manuscript together with details of the publisher’s and printer’s quotes and a newspaper cutting announcing the publication.

The watercolours were purchased in Canton in 1789. They are of a type produced in workshops for sale chiefly to foreigners, for whom they functioned as records of the exotic. George Henry Mason published them under the title Costumes of China yet they equally record trade and leisure activities.

Details

Title

Description of A Man Striking a Loo or Gong
Associated place

United Kingdom (place of creation)
Date

1789 - 1800
Material and technique

ink on paper
Material index

paper
Technique index

hand-written;

bound
Object type

manuscript;

album
Dimensions

page 32 x 20.5 cm (height x width)
No. of items

n/a
Credit line

Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund, the Friends of the Ashmolean Museum, and the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, 2003.
Museum location

refer to main record
Museum department

Eastern Art
Accession no.

EA2003.4.249