A CHINESE BONE MODEL OF A FLOWER BOAT, CANTON, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY the carpeted cabins with stained furniture and shaded by fretwork pierced panels, the foredeck with figures around a tea table before a verandah and doorway flanked by an inscribed couplet, the upper deck set with plants, the bow with flags and lanterns, on a cloth-covered stand 33.5cm long The couplet reads in translation: The fish is swimming across the green water / The bee is flying into the red heart of the flower. In the 18th and 19th century brightly decorated 'Flower Boats' thronged the waterways of Canton. Although more innocent entertainments were available to gentlemen, such as wine and song provided by the 'flowers' (the ladies on board), in general the term 'Flower Boat' referred to floating brothels, servicing the needs of the foreign sailors and traders, among others. Models of these pleasure craft became popular souvenir items. In about 1803 a model was brought back to England by Richard Hall, a senior merchant of the East India Company. This model is preserved today at the Victoria and Albert Museum (No. A.6-1936). For other comparable models to the present example see: the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, object ID OBJ0437; the Mariner's Museum, Newport News VA, No. MP30; and the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul.