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Artist or Maker: Thomas Allom (1804-1872)
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Notes: by Bentley and others in G.N.Wright, China...in a Series of Views... drawn, from original and authentic sketches, by Thomas Allom, Esq., London, 1843-47, I, facing pp.8 ('At a brief distance west from the great city of Hang-Chow-foo, once the capital of Southern China, there is a lake celebrated for its extent, the clearness of its waters, and romantic character of the surrounding scenery...') and 56, III, facing p.53 ('...in the suburbs of Ting-hae, where a flat bridge spans a creek margined with sedge, and rushes, and flags, the landscape is particularly pleasing, and the spot is chosen as a theatre of mirth by parties from the city.', and IV, facing pp.5, ('In the foreground of this agreeable prospect...stands a Hall of Fate, the Polo Temple, wither pilgrimages are frequently made by despairing or disappointed lovers. There is a well within it, to which peculiar virtues are ascibed, in healing the wounds of slighted love...'), 21 ('The destinies of the empire are said to be under the tutelage of four supernatural animals - the stag, tortoise, phoenix; and dragon... the dragon represented authority. This last extraordinary Monster is the national ensign of China; it is painted on their standards, attached to precepts, edicts, documents, books, and all imperial insruments or insignia. Besides his possession of authority, the dragon influences the seasons, and exerts a decided mastery over the heavenly bodies. Eclipses have always hitherto yielded to his ravenous propensity, which leads him occasionally to swallow the sun and moon, leaving the empire in total darkness. To appease his wrath, to divert his attention from these serious pursuits, the Festival of the Dragon Boat is instituted, and held on the fifth day of the fifth moon, which generally falls in June.'), and 23 ('Captain Stoddart's accurate view of the site and scenery of this celebrated entrepôt is a panorama of exquisite loveliness.').
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
Thomas Allom travelled widely but is not known to have visited China, and his views derive from the work of others. The last of the present sketches is credited to a sketch made on the spot by Captain Stoddart,RN. Many of Allom's views derive from William Alexander, the Daniells, amongst others, and from the work of other officers who were in China during the Opium War. The war ended in 1842, the Treaty of Nanking ceding Hong Kong to the British as indemnity and opening up China to international trade and diplomacy. Wright's four volumes, published between 1843 and 1847, cashed in on the renewed curiosity about China in the aftermath of the war. Wright is not known to have travelled to China, and, like Allom, borrowed heavily for his narrative.
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