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Lot 622

GEORGE CHINNERY (1774-1852)
Study of a Woman Holding a Tray, and Seated Man, 1838

31 October – 10 November 2025, 10:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £1,216 inc. premium

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GEORGE CHINNERY (1774-1852)

Study of a Woman Holding a Tray, and Seated Man, 1838
Pencil, pen and ink on paper, inscribed in the artist's shorthand and dated '[18]38', mounted. 11cm (4 3/8in) high x 20cm (8in) wide.

Footnotes

Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價

1838年 錢納利(1774-1852) 托盤女子及蹲坐男子習作 鉛筆、鋼筆及水墨紙本 鏡心

Provenance: A private collection, Glasgow
Martyn Gregory, London

來源:私人收藏,格拉斯哥
倫敦古董商Martyn Gregory

George Chinnery (1774–1852) was born in London, the son of a writing master and shorthand instructor. He exhibited miniature portraits at the Royal Academy from 1791 and later enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools in 1792. After relocating to Dublin in 1796, he expanded his repertoire to include oil portraits and landscapes. Following the abolition of the Irish Parliament, which led to the departure of many potential patrons, he returned to London in 1801. The next year, he sailed to Madras, where his brother worked for the East India Company, and later settled in Calcutta by 1812, establishing himself as the leading Western artist in British India.

Though successful and much in demand for portraits, Chinnery accumulated significant debt for reasons that remain unclear. After a brief stay in the Danish settlement of Serampore to evade British civil law, he sailed to Macao in 1825, seeking refuge from his creditors. There, he joined a vibrant community of European and American merchants who operated between Canton and Macao. He made the Portuguese enclave his home until his death in 1852, apart from excursions to Canton and Hong Kong.

This composition comprising three distinct sketches in ink, and two further sketches in pencil depicting Chinese figures. The scenes are familiar from other sketches by Chinnery, for example, compared the seated figure next to a wide-rimmed hat in the collection of the V&A museum London, acc.no. E.1314-1928.

Additional information

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