Porcher, Edwin Augustus, 1824-1878, 31. The river at Singapore. November 1851. Lithographed, 1849-1861
- Call Number:
- MSS 38
- Creator:
- Porcher, Edwin Augustus, 1824-1878
- Title(s):
- 31. The river at Singapore. November 1851. Lithographed.
- Date:
- 1849-1861
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Series I: Drawings
- Part of Collection:
- Oversize 1
- Provenance:
- E.A. Porcher donated 16 drawings related to his Cyrene expedition to the British Museum in 1865. He left his remaining papers and watercolor works to Lieut. Col. Cecil Du Pre Penton Powney (b. 1862), his sister’s surviving son, who donated views, plans and elevations from the Cyrene expedition to the British Museum in 1894. The remaining manuscripts and drawings were inherited by Powney’s daughter, Beryl Wyndham Powney (c. 1896 -1976). Several components of the Porcher collection were sold by private dealers beginning in the 1970s (see 'Related Archival Materials Note' for Porcher holdings in other institutional collections).
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
- Scope and Content:
- Government Hill features prominently in views of Singapore, often as the apex of the composition, as Porcher has done in this view from the South Boat Quay near the junction with Market Street. Raffles had established his presence and political control by appropriating the traditional elevated domain of the Malay Rulers, who occupied it (then called Bukit Larangan ‘Forbidden Hill’) in the fourteenth century (Wong 37). In Porcher’s view, the river is bustling with traffic: small sampans ferry passengers to the arched landing and a Malay perahu-mayang fishing boat brings in its catch at lower right. A number of warehouses lining the banks of the river are accessible by the Thomson’s Bridge – the only access to the commercial town. Porcher labeled the Master Attendant’s building (at right), which was the headquarters of the Master Attendant of the British entrepot and a post office. In a lithographed version of Porcher’s view by Vincent Brooks, a nakhoda (boat captain) was added in the foreground, and a Javanese trading vessel at left. Several boats filled with cargo, and a display of tropical fruits perched dockside entices viewers to the ‘exotic’ goods flowing in and out of the port (see Hong Suen Wong page 72 for Vincent Brooks lithograph).
- Additional Notes:
- B1977.14.22233
- Physical Description:
- 1 drawing : watercolor, body color, on medium-thick beige paper, affixed to card mount ; sheet 26 x 36 cm, mount 36.5 x 52 cm
- Genre:
- Watercolors (paintings), Pictorial works, Diaries, Letters, and Ships' logs
- Subject Terms:
- Anglo-Burmese War, 2nd, 1852AntiquitiesAntiquities, RomanChronColoniesDescription and travelExcavations (Archaeology)FortificationHarborsHistory, NavalJunksNavigationPagodasPiracyPiratesPunic antiquitiesShipsTemplesVoyages and travels
- Subject Period:
- 1849-18611850-1900
- Associated Places:
- AsiaBurmaCarthage (Extinct city)ChinaChina SeaCyrene (Extinct city)East AsiaGozo Island (Malta)Grand Harbour (Malta)Great BritainGuangzhou (China)Hong Kong (China)MaltaMellieh̳a (Malta)Pulau Pinang (Malaysia : State)Qrendi (Malta)SingaporeSingapore River (Singapore)Trincomalee (Sri Lanka)Tunis (Tunisia)TunisiaUtica (Extinct city)Valletta (Malta)
- Associated People/Groups:
- Boxer (Ship : 1855-1865)Cleopatra (Ship : 1843)Davis, N. (Nathan), 1812-1882Great Britain. Royal NavyHarpy (Ship : 1845-1909)Hibernia (Ship : 1804-1902)Kertch (Ship)Melville, Harden Sidney, active 1837-1882Porcher, Edwin A., 1824-1878Porcher, Madelina
- Finding Aid Title:
- Edwin Augustus Porcher Collection
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/19.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/2827
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/2827?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1