Anglo-Chinese School


19th century Oil on board depicting a portrait of the Governor of Canton, Ye Mingchen, framed and glazed. 22.5cm (8 7/8in) wide x 28cm (11in) long. (2).
|十九世紀 外銷兩廣總督葉名琛像油彩畫Provenance: an English private collection 來源： 英國私人收藏Ye Mingchen 葉名琛 (1807-1859) was a high ranking Qing dynasty official, known for his resistance to British influence in Canton after the First Opium War and his role in the beginning of the Second Opium War. After rising through the ranks of the Imperial Civil Service, Ye Mingchen became Governor of Guangdong in 1848. He held strong in refusing British demands for British traders to reside in Guangzhou, which after the Treaty of Nanjing, was believed to be guaranteed by the British (although now it is argued that the treaty read differently in English and Chinese). In 1856, while putting down a local rebellion, he seized a ship called the Arrow which claimed to be registered in British Hong Kong. This was used by the British and French governments to begin the Second opium War (1856-60). Ye was captured on 28th December 1857 and held prisoner on board HMS 'Inflexible'. The sketch of Ye on board of HMS Inflexible, which was the basis for the present lot, was made to depict him as a hideous monster and got broad circulation as British propaganda justifying the War.