Golden pheasant

This painting of a golden pheasant is an example of a type of picture that was mass produced in China for European visitors. It was made in Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China. In the 18th century the city became the principal – and later the only – trading port at which Europeans were permitted to buy Chinese goods.

Foreign flora and fauna were of great interest to British botanists in the 18th and 19th centuries, and such enthusiasm gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers often returned to Britain with paintings depicting numerous species of exotic birds.