| The favourite excursion for foreigner in South China was a trip to a Hong merchant's estate. This painting depicts the villa and garden of Howqua, just a stone's throw from the Sea-screen Temple. This was a family of immense wealth who had produced a few generations of Hong merchants, a hereditary post. The villa was furnished in English style, with a fireplace and floors of imported marble, where European chandeliers echoed a collection of Italian paintings, counterbalanced by elaborately carved and gilded Chinese interiors. |
