Collections : [Yale University -Yale Center for British Art]

This representation illustrates the fashion of British colonial modes of transport by the early 1850s. Chinese figures carry a palanquin, while a horse-drawn carriage also charges by. Happy Valley was the site of a British racecourse and a Protestant Cemetery (see watercolor "11").

For a full description and image of this work, see the online catalogue of the Yale Center for British Art.

The Hong Kong Cemetery (also known as the Protestant Cemetery and the Colonial Cemetery) was opposite the oldest racecourse in Hong Kong in Happy Valley, and in the middle of a line of cemeteries that included the Roman Catholic cemetery (founded 1848) and later Islamic cemetery (1870). In 1853 (a year after this view), the captain and crew of the HMS Cleopatra erected a monument to Scottish trader and explorer Robert Burns, grandson of the poet, who was killed by pirates of the Tunku River (for which the Cleopatra was dispatched to avenge, see watercolors '25' and '27').

Since the Song Dynasty, ocean-going junks of this size made trips to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Not in Bain. Inscribed in graphite: "Richard Shirley Smith '62."

Jardine & Matheson Co. were the most powerful opium merchants in Hong Kong. They founded their company in 1832, grew rapidly by exporting tea and silk to England, and by smuggling opium. They purchased land in the Causeway area when Britain acquired Hong Kong after the Treaty of Nanking, at the conclusion of the first opium war. Porcher's journal describes the "patent slip" at Jardine's Establishment, where "ships of about 500 tons… can be hauled up" and repaired (6). A drawing of the purchase for hauling the vessels is included on page 7 (diary).

"Joss House" was the derogatory term used by the British to refer to Chinese temples. The word "Joss" was derived from the Portuguese deos or God, adapted in the pidgin trading language at Chinese ports (Whitworth 463-464). Tai Ping Shan means "peace hill" and was named after the area's peaceful settlement after the conclusion of an 1810 sea battle between pirates and Qing Dynasty warships. This peace was interrupted when British warships arrived, and the street became a traditional Chinese enclave in the Victoria Peak region otherwise dominated by the British garrison. Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist worshippers happily co-mingled along the street, and Porcher's view likely depicts the temple devoted to "Jai Kung", or "poor man's Buddha", constructed in 1851 as a temporary repository for the stone tablets of Hong Kong's deceased, whose remains were far from their ancestral burial grounds. A statue of the god Tai Chong Wong presided over the souls of the deceased (Ingham 107-109).

Lists 10 entries by date ranging from July 18 to October 20, 1837.

Notes on 22 drawings, places, and dates, made in the vicinity of Naples, Italy, February 6 to October 6, 1838.

Lists 17 mounts / 24 drawings made in the vicinity of Naples, Italy, August 9-27, 1838.

Lists 78 drawings, with notes in graphite concerning an additional 20. From March 2, 1839, to October 28, 1840.

A draft list, prepatory for list in folder 21a of in the present collection. Though numbered 1-100, only 38 entries are completed.

Lists 76 mounts / 124 drawings, from August 8 to October 4, 1856. The first 13 mounts replicate the list of the "Across Albania August 1856" list (folder 29).

Lists 36 mounts / 43 drawings, May 12-22, 1860. On the back of the sheet is a list of place names in Egypt and Italy, and the word "sunset."

Rough notes describing approximately 35 drawings, from March 20 to May 13.

Lists 181 mounts / 215 drawings, from April to May 30, 1863.

Two lists, both relating to Corfu. The first, on the recto, is titled "1864" and comprises a rough list of 11 drawings, from January 26 to April 2, 1864.

Shek-Pai-Wan is a bay between Hong Kong and Aberdeen Island. The British were initially attracted to waterfall at Aberdeen because it was a source of fresh water supply. A short journey from Aberdeen, Hap-Lee-Chow (Ap Lei Chau Island) was an important maritime center. Temples (called "Joss Houses" by the British) were important places of prayer for local fishermen, who would give offerings to ensure plentiful catches (Ingham 142).

In his diary, Porcher describes the British barracks built on the 'Checkchu' (or 'Check-chow') peninsula (called Stanley) and at Siwan: "[A]fter a certain time, all the English troops were obliged to be called in in consequence of both places turning out so unhealthy, on account of the malaria rising from the valleys, over which both stations had been built, at present 12 and 15 men of the Ceylon Rifles under the command of Native Officers, having been left there" (Diary 3).

Depicts naval officers drinking and dining in the Elephanta Caves, near present-day Mumbai. Porcher may have looked to models such as 'The Temple of Elephanta': line engraving by James Phillips after painting by James Wales, based on an original drawing by James Forbes (Published London, 1790). Porcher's signature appears on the bottom left corner.

Porcher's image (or another version of it) was adapted for publication in the Illustrated London News, October 4, 1851, which reported an "Attack on Chinese Pirates by the Boats of Her majesty's Ship 'Cleopatra,'" (402). On June 24th, the Superintendent of the police received news that fishermen at Mir's Bay had been attacked by a fleet of junks led by "Shap-'ng-tchi" (Shap-ng-tsai, the infamous pirate). Captain Massie of the Cleopatra ordered the barge, cutter, and pinnace (manned by Porcher and Hon. C. Crofton) armed and deployed. When the pirate junks were sighted near Bias Bay, a five hour chase ensued.

As Porcher notes in his diary, Amoy (today called Xiamen) was the most important harbor in the province of Fujian and was dominated by foreign trade at the turn of the 18th century. The island of Kulang Su (Gulangyu), on the western side of Xiamen's harbor, was once occupied by British troops after the capture of the city in 1841 until it was restored to Chinese in 1845 (Nield 99). Its five British batteries are still visible in Porcher's view. In his diary, he expounds the strategic advantages of this location: "In case of another misunderstanding with the Chinese the island of Kulang-su would be well adapted for a settlement, the channel between it and Amoy being only 672 yards wide – the ridge of hills on the island being higher than those opposite. There are two distinct ridges which might be separately defended, the highest point being 280 feet above the sea. The island is principally granite, and the soil being formed of it in a decomposed state…. Fresh water from wells are plentiful, and artificial channels conduct it to boats" (53).

Whampoa was the way-station between Macau and Canton before the institution of the treaty port system. It was a popular subject among European and Chinese export artists, as foreign ships would anchor there before sending goods on smaller boats to Canton. A typical merchant ship's journey up the Pearl River Delta would first dock at Macau, then to Lintin Island, then travelling onwards through the estuary of the Bocca Tigris (Human), finally anchoring at Whampoa. In 1844, Chinese authorities proposed rules to prevent smuggling via Portuguese lorchas, requiring they bear registration numbers and report for examination. Lorchas had been involved in the importation of cannon for native insurgents and sometimes passed themselves off as British (Perdue, n.p.).

This view of Manila shows daily life in the bustling port city. The bridge is in the district of Binondo, an enclave of ethnic Chinese and the main commercial center amongst Chinese mestizos and Spanish Filipinos (Abinales 79).

On September 12, 1851, the HMS Dolphin was attacked in Maladu Bay by Illanun pirates. Captain Robertson and Supercargo Robert Burns (grandson of the poet) and the crew were murdered by pirates from Tunku. In response, the Cleopatra, Semiramis and Pluto were dispatched from Singapore on January 10th and arrived at Labuan by the 20th, sailing on to Mengatal to hold a meeting with local ruler Pangeran Madand about bartering with the Iranun (Illanun) Pirates and providing them a boat. A "Mr. Melrum" accompanied the diplomatic party to negotiate the repayment of a debt (see Porcher's diary, page 30). Porcher depicts the British crews firing a salute upon arrival at the Pangeran Madand's village.

The island of Labuan was taken possession by the British in 1846, and proposed as a British base against piracy in the South China Sea. It became a crown colony in 1848. Porcher indicates that the island's most important product was coal, and describes at length the island's position, crops, cultivation and harbor (diary 20-28). He also includes a detailed map of Labuan.

The incident Porcher depicts was reported in the Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1852 (222-223). Porcher and the crew of the Cleopatra, Pluto and Semiramis were traveling up the Tunku river in pursuit of the Illanun [Iranun] pirates responsible for the murder of the HMS Dolphin's crew (see "25. Official visit of the Boats of the Cleopatra to the Pangeran Madoud's house"). When they arrived at the residence of Rajah Muda, marines and armed men landed to find white flags hoisted on the roof of the houses. Porcher reports: "In retaliation for their having fired at us the day before, when white flags were flying, both at the Chief's house, and also in our boats, about 40 houses were burned, and the little property that was found in them destroyed, as well as their paddy, fruit trees, etc." (34). The pirates returned fire again, killing one man and wounding two others. Porcher continues with a detailed description of the Iranun pirates from Mindanao, who were known for murdering crews of vessels "except those they are able to sell as slaves". The entire landscape is frenetic with action; figures are hiding behind foliage with guns, while gunfire issues from the British vessels in the river.

Penang, an island off the coast of the Malaysian Peninsula, was first occupied by the British East India Company in 1786, and became a British 'Straits Settlement" along with Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore when the Anglo-Dutch Treaty (1824) brought these under the administration of the British East Company. It became an important trading center under the British, its commercial architecture dotting the shoreline of Porcher's watercolor.

Singapore is at the crossroads of Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok Straits, and the South China Seas, which made it a key trading center in the India-China route. This view overlooking the Singapore River was taken from an observation point on Mount Wallich, named after Nathaniel Wallich who founded the settlement's Botanical and Experimental Garden. Today the view is no longer replicable, as Mount Wallich was levelled in 1885. Significantly, Porcher's view pre-dates one of the most well-known panoramic paintings of this viewpoint by Percy Carpenter, Singapore from Mount Wallich, 1856. Many of the same structures are visible in both the Porcher and Carpenter: Government Hill and Governor's House, the colonial residence built in 1822 by G.D. Coleman, which itself provided the colonial administration with an uninterrupted view (most view of Singapore were commissioned from this vantage point). The elevated vantage point also eliminated the unattractive mangrove swamps that dominated low-lying areas. The spires of the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator and the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd; the broad esplanade of Telok Ayer street; the Telok Ayer market, also built after designs by Coleman, on the spit of land jutting into the basin (Pieris 43-45; Wong and Waterson 96).

Government Hill features prominently in views of Singapore, often as the apex of the composition, as Porcher has done in this view from the South Boat Quay near the junction with Market Street. Raffles had established his presence and political control by appropriating the traditional elevated domain of the Malay Rulers, who occupied it (then called Bukit Larangan 'Forbidden Hill') in the fourteenth century (Wong 37). In Porcher's view, the river is bustling with traffic: small sampans ferry passengers to the arched landing and a Malay perahu-mayang fishing boat brings in its catch at lower right. A number of warehouses lining the banks of the river are accessible by the Thomson's Bridge – the only access to the commercial town. Porcher labeled the Master Attendant's building (at right), which was the headquarters of the Master Attendant of the British entrepot and a post office. In a lithographed version of Porcher's view by Vincent Brooks, a nakhoda (boat captain) was added in the foreground, and a Javanese trading vessel at left. Several boats filled with cargo, and a display of tropical fruits perched dockside entices viewers to the 'exotic' goods flowing in and out of the port (see Hong Suen Wong page 72 for Vincent Brooks lithograph).

Mounted together with "33. Coffee from Pinang. May 28th 1850." "34. Cloves from Pinang. Dec. 22nd 1851." "35. Nutmegs from Pinang. June 1st 1850."

Mounted together with "32. Pepper Grown at Sinapore. November 4th 1851.," "34. Cloves from Pinang. Dec. 22nd 1851.," "35. Nutmegs from Pinang. June 1st 1850."

Mounted together with "32. Pepper Grown at Sinapore. [sic] November 4th 1851.," "33. Coffee from Pinang. May 28th 1850.," "35. Nutmegs from Pinang. June 1st 1850."

Mounted together with "32. Pepper Grown at Sinapore. [sic] November 4th 1851.," "33. Coffee from Pinang. May 28th 1850.," "34. Cloves from Pinang. Dec. 22nd 1851."

Brochure for an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, 1958. Includes artists' statements by Irwin, McHale, and Mesens.

Small exhibition poster. Institute of Contemporary Arts, 5-29 November 1958.