Fan presented to Captain John Green depicting the Empress of China (far left), 1784
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
Paper, gouache, and mother of pearl
Courtesy of the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, HSP.R-7-39, Painted Paper Fan
The Empress of China left New York on February 22, 1784, to open American trade with China. Businessman Samuel Shaw of Boston, Massachusetts, oversaw the $120,000 cargo of lead, animal skins, cotton, and ginseng, which the crew exchanged for Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain once it reached Canton (Guangzhou). In China, Captain John Green was presented with this fan, which depicts the vessel.