A REVERSE-GLASS PICTURE OF MOGADOR

Attributed to Canton workshops , China

Mid-eighteenth century

A panoramic view of Mogador, now Essaouira, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, showing European sailing vessels and smaller boats before the fortified waterfront. British, Moroccan and Sweedish flags appear amont the scene. The composition is contained within an oval reserve with a gilt geometric border. 

Developed as a royal trading port under Sultan Muhammad III, Mogador became an important link between Morocco’s Saharan hinterland and European markets. Its harbour connected inland caravan routes with Atlantic maritime trade, a role reflected in the international shipping depicted here.

An identifiable view of a city outside China is an extremely rare subject within this particular mid-eighteenth-century style of Chinese export reverse-glass painting. The depiction of the North African port of Mogador gives the picture particular significance being a multifaith city, and home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities, whose coexistence formed part of its international commercial character.