Martyn Gregory

Shanghai: the Bund from Pudong - Price Upon Request

Chinese ‘export’ artist, c. 1857
Shanghai: the Bund from Pudong
Oil on canvas, 17 ¾ x 30 ½ in (45.1 x 77.5 cm)

A precisely detailed view of the Bund at Shanghai, with the unusual addition of the waterfront of Pootung (Pudong) in the foreground.

On the right is the wooden Garden Bridge (or Wills Bridge) built in 1856, with a central drawbridge section in the centre; this was the first of several bridges over the Suzhou Creek liking the Bund with the district of Hongkou.  Two buildings on the Creek can be seen beyond.  Near the bridge by the flagstaff is the British consulate, and the large building to the left of the dark sails of the junk is the headquarters of Jardine, Matheson, which had replaced their original Chinese-roofed building by 1851.  To the left of the pair of white sails are the three-storeyed premises of Augustine, Heard & co.

The only building in a recognizably Chinese style is the red-walled custom house, seen in line with the prow of the three-masted ship near the centre.  The original custom house had been ransacked by the ‘Small Swords’ in 1853, and was rebuilt soon after with paired wings on either side, as shown here.  To its right is Dent & Son flies the flag of Portugal, (as the Portuguese consulate was lodged here), and the tower of .  For a painting of the Bund at a similar date to the present picture see Eric Politzer, ‘The Changing Face of the Shanghai Bund’, Arts of Asia March-April 2005, 72-3.