Artwork
A Bean Curd Seller
A Bean Curd Seller is a paint painting by the Patna School of Painting artist Puqua. It dates from 1790 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
The work is a rectangular watercolor dated 1790, titled *A Bean Curd Seller*. It portrays a solitary figure engaged in the trade of selling bean curd, positioned beside a white bucket and a low table covered with a plain cloth. The composition is set against an unadorned, off‑white background, emphasizing the activity of the vendor.
Subject & Meaning
The central character is a man in a dark robe, a blue sash at his waist, and a brown hat, holding a pipe and a string attached to a basket filled with white objects identified as bean curds. His barefoot stance and the modest setting suggest a focus on everyday commerce rather than status, offering a glimpse into Cantonese market life.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolor, the painting employs a limited palette of muted tones, allowing the white bucket, tablecloth, and bean curd to stand out. The brushwork is precise yet economical, rendering the figure’s clothing and accessories with clear outlines while leaving the background flat, a common approach in late eighteenth‑century genre scenes.
History & Provenance
The piece belongs to a series of one hundred paintings documenting various occupations in Canton. It entered the museum’s collection after being purchased from the dealers Parsons & Sons and was formally accessioned in 1898, a detail confirmed by the Asia Department registers during a provenance research project completed in 2022.
Context
Created during a period when European interest in Chinese trade and daily life was growing, the series served both as visual record and as a curiosity for foreign audiences. The depiction of a bean curd vendor reflects the importance of tofu in Cantonese cuisine and highlights the diversity of street‑level professions in the city at the close of the eighteenth century.
Artist & collection
