8464

ATTRIBUTED TO SPOILUM (GUAN ZUOLIN)

Canton, China, Late 18th/Early 19th Century

Portrait of Benjamin Greene Dexter wearing a double-breasted jacket.

Unsigned. Accompanied by its original American Empire-period frame with Dexter's name written verso and significant research materials.
Oil on canvas, 24" x 18". Framed 27.5" x 22".
Condition: UV light reveals restoration throughout including to the face and collar.

The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction. 

  • Provenance:
    Sanders & Mock Auctioneers, Chocorua, New Hampshire, June 17, 1997. Dexter descendants settled in the area from Rhode Island, bringing the painting and other Chinese export glass paintings with them.
    The Estate of Dr. William E. Strole, Jr. of Boston.

    Notes:
    Benjamin Greene Dexter (1760-1829) was a master mariner who resided in Cumberland, Rhode Island. He married Mary Dexter, daughter of Jonathan Dexter and Alice Lowe, in 1780. They were the parents of five daughters. Both Benjamin and Mary are buried in the Cumberland Cemetery, Dexter Street, Cumberland, Rhode Island. "This man followed the seas many years and became master of his own ship, and accumulated a good estate. He quit voyaging and opened a store at what was then and is now a brick house on South Main Street opposite what was then called Dexter Wharf, which he owned."

    Captain Dexter sailed to China twice. The first time was on the Brown & Ives ship
    John Jay , which arrived in Canton on December 8, 1800 and arrived back in Providence on July 13, 1801. The ship's manifest lists "3 boxes of pictures" in the captain's private cargo.

    The second voyage, via Cape Horn, was on the Brown & Ives ship
    Isis that arrived in Canton on June 12, 1804. It was back in Providence on December 29, 1804. The ship's manifest lists under the captain's private cargo "one box, contents, one picture and two frames". The original logbook of the Isis is in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society.

    Benjamin's cousin Stephen Dexter, similar in family appearance, was supercargo on the
    Tyre of Providence, which sailed to Canton in 1802, arriving July 27. He also had his portrait painted by Spoilum during this trip; it is illustrated in The China Trade by Carl L. Crossman (1972, 1st edition), p. 22, no 15, and is in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society.

    Another cousin, Edward Dexter, is mentioned in the Dexter genealogy as the owner of 17 ships and who returned from the sea in 1806. Examples of China Trade furniture owned by him are now in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

    The artist Spoilum is the earliest identifiable Chinese artist who worked in oil on canvas, reverse painting on glass and miniatures on ivory for the Western market, likely beginning in the 1780s.
    The diary of American merchant Ralph Haskins of Roxbury, Massachusetts, notes "while nothing else could be done, I went to Spoilum and sat for two hours to have my portrait taken. He was $10 each and does a great deal of business in that line".

    It is now believed from current research there were two artists Spoilum: 'Old Spoilum' and 'Young Spoilum'. The Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island holds an account book of American merchant John Bower, which shows separate transactions for 'Old Spoilum' and 'Young Spoilum' in the entry for November 25, 1797. Further, a miniature on ivory in a private collection bears a label "Spoilum Junr", reinforcing the identity of two Spoilums.

    Footnotes:
    1) Dexter Genealogy by S.C. Newman (Providence: 1859), p. 68, 69.
    2)
    The American Neptune , Vol. 54, Special Supplement, 1994, p. 28.
    3) Providence Import Book B, 68.
    4)
    The American Neptune , Vol. 54, Special Supplement, 1994, p. 41.
    5) Providence Import Book B, 128.
    6)
    The American Neptune , Vol. 54, Special Supplement, 1994, p. 35.
    7) The China Trade ... by Carl L. Crossman (1991), p. 235, plate 124, p. 238, plates 125, 126.

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