A portrait of Van-Ta-Zhin; and A Chinese figure being carried in a common sedan chair

Alexander was appointed the first Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, a post he held from 1808 until his death. Before that he was draughtsman to the British Embassy to China, sent out between 1792-4 to seek trading concessions and led by George Macartney (1741-1824). The journal Alexander kept during this trip, along with the huge numbers of detailed sketches he produced, provides an invaluable record of the earliest embassy to China. On his return to England Alexander worked up many of his sketches into carefully executed watercolors. Of his annual submissions to the Royal Academy between 1795 and 1804, thirteen of these were of Chinese subjects. Several of his drawings were also used to illustrate Sir George Staunton’s An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, published in 1797.

Van-Ta-Zhin was appointed by the Emperor to attend to the British Embassy and accompanied the Embassy throughout its visit. He is depicted wearing a peacock feather, which was the highest order awarded by the Emperor in recognition of his services during the Wars of Tibet. The small red coral globe on the top of his cap denotes his seniority. Alexander in the text accompanying the engraving stated that he 'was a man of bold, generous, and amiable character, and possessed of qualifications eminently suited to his profession, being well skilled in the use of the bow, and in the management of the sabre'. There is another smaller similar watercolor in the collection of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (reproduced in G.H.R. Tillotson, Fan Kwae Pictures, London, 1987, ill., p. 111, no. 125). The present drawing served as the basis for an engraving in Alexander's 1805 publication of The Costume of China. The second drawing shows a bamboo sedan chair, of which there were many different types available appropriate to the means of the passenger.