AN IMPERIAL AUDIENCE

Part of a loose group of China trade pictures of this period showing highly detailed figure scenes set in Imperial pavilions, the figures dwarfed by the imposing architecture. A related view in the collection of the Royal Pavilion Art Gallery and Museums, Brighton, is thought by Patrick Conner to be largely imaginary rather than based on any historical event (P. Conner, The China Trade 1600 - 1860, pl. 83). Another of this type, including ladies and thought to be set in the Summer Palace, was offered by Christie's, Hong Kong, 31 October 1994, lot 905.