Title
Emu (Dromaius Novae Hollandaiae)
circa 1807
Artist
Company style
late 18th century – late 19th century
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Malacca
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Malaysia
- Date
- circa 1807
- Media category
- Watercolour
- Materials used
- watercolour and gouache on paper
- Dimensions
- 37.5 x 24.5 cm
- Credit
- Purchased 1993
- Location
- South Building, ground level, Grand Courts
- Accession number
- 324.1993
- Copyright
- Artist information
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Company style
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Whether this emu, a bird found only in Australia, was painted from life is not known. The 1700s and 1800s saw widespread fascination for, and trade in, unfamiliar creatures. Many passed through the Strait of Malacca, a bustling shipping route between Indonesia and Malaysia that links the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The painting is attributed to a Chinese artist for its similarity to illustrations by artists from southern China commissioned by William Farquhar between 1803 and 1818 to record the plants and animals of the Malay Peninsula, including those in his own menagerie. Farquhar was then British Resident and Commandant of Malacca (Melaka). His pre-photography passion mirrored that of expatriates across colonial India and Southeast Asia who commissioned images such as this, combining regional painting techniques with a European approach to naturalism.
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Bibliography
Referenced in 1 publication
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Voyages in Southeast Asia.1750-1930, 31 (illus.), London, 1993.
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Provenance
Yu-Che Chong, 1993, England, purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, June 1993.