Chinese School: The House of a Foreign Merchant 19th Century

watercolor and gouache on paper.

Not inspected out of frame. There is a horizontal crease midway up the left side of the sky which has the appearance of a 2 inch long tear. There is a vertical crease running down from the sky through the left hand wing of the house which has the appearance of a long white scratch. There is a small area of inpainting where it runs through the pediment of the house. There is a one inch inpainted scratch running through the pediment of the house approximately in the center. There are numerous scuffs and scratches to the sky particularly on the right hand side above the out buildings. There is an inpainted scratch approximately one inch long and a small area of loss to the balustrade in front of the house to the left of one tree. There is a ¼ inch paint flake at the far right side of the balustrade. There are some small scratches above the chimneys. On the sky on the left hand side, the sky has dirty grey marks on the surface, two of which show quite strongly as vertical lines, apparent in the catalogue photograph. The margins are creased and have minor tears and losses around the edges. There are several folds and minor scratches along the bottom edge of the image. Inscribed in pencil at the base of the sheet on the front is “WM. S Wetmore – Canton. 1842”
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to the inscription on the covering of this painting, the house shown belongs to William S. Whitmore, a trader at Canton from Philadelphia. For similar paintings of the houses of Augustine Heard & Company in Shanghai and Macao, see Crossman, 1991,  p. 148, pls. 62-64.