Kawahara Keiga 川原慶賀 (Japan, 1786-1860): 'Two Dutch Vessels Anchored off Deshima Harbour', gouache on silk, seal mark, 19th C.

Dim.: 52,5 x 67 cm (the frame)
Dim.: 33 x 48 cm (the work)

Provenance: 
- Van Herck Auctions, Antwerp, Belgium, November 1978. 
- Galerie Jacques Vandewalle, Antwerp/France, acquired from the above. 
- A private Belgian collection, acquired from the above in December 1986. 

Ref.:
- Bubb Kuyper: Auctioneers of Books, Fine Arts & Manuscripts, 19 May 2022, lot 4571, for a closely related work. (sold EUR 19.000,00) (link)
- Rob Michiels Auctions, 28 April 2018, lot 1144, for a related work by the artist. (sold EUR 85.800,00) (link)

Kawahara Keiga was a Japanese painter active in Nagasaki during the late Edo period. Working closely with Dutch merchants and visitors at Dejima, he produced detailed paintings combining Japanese technique with Western perspective, documenting Japanese life, landscapes and maritime subjects for an international audience.

Accompanied by an old backing board bearing late 19th-century newspaper clippings, together with a handwritten note:
'Les navires La Fortitude et L’Océan ont appartenu à Monsieur Charles Lauwers, père de feu mon mari.'
English translation: 'The ships Fortitude and Océan belonged to Monsieur Charles Lauwers, father of my late husband.'
This is more than likely written by Mélanie-Jeannette Lanszweert (Ostend, 1802-?), daughter-in-law to Charles Francois Lauwers (Torhout, 1765-?), who married his son, Richard Marie Lauwers (Bruges, 1805 - Torhout, 1842) on 24 October 1832. Charles Lauwers was a prominent figure in Bruges, Ostend and Torhout. Records show that in 1810, he was a member of the commission responsible for organising Napoléon’s welcome to Ostend and overseeing arrangements for the official reception. After his career in maritime trade, he served as mayor of Torhout from 1824 until 1830. 

A further, partially illegible, note states: '... Mélanie, ... marié au fils de M. Charles Lauwers, née en 1802.', English translation: '... Mélanie, ... maried to the son of Mr. Charles Lauwers, born in 1802'. 

The backing board also retains a clipping from the 1978 Van Herck auction catalogue, in which the present work was erroneously catalogued, together with the preceding lot, as ‘Japanese School, second half of the 18th century’, and associated with Charles Lauwers and the Ostend Company. This attribution cannot be correct, as Lauwers was born in 1765, after the dissolution of the Company, while the Fortitude was built only in 1809.

Sources: Jacques van Wijnendaele, 'De familie Lanszweert en de stad Oostende', 2008. Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank. J.N. Pasquini, 'Histoire de la Ville d'Ostende', 1842. Echo d'Ostende 13/06/1895. Napoleon I sur le littoral beige. Echo d'Ostende 05/09/1934. Geneanet. La visite de Napoleon et de Marie-Louise à Ostende. 

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