oil painting

Painted in oils on a wooden panel, this late 18th century image shows a trading port complete with sailing ships, one of which displays a Dutch flag. European merchants and their middle eastern counterparts discuss business while men load cargo in the form of barrels and packs. The panel originally came from a house in St Georges Street Norwich, and was an appropriate subject for aspirational Norwich merchants hoping to secure foreign markets for the lucrative ‘ Norwich Stuffs’ in the 18th century. The board is now set into the overmantel in the Georgian Dining Room at Strangers’ Hall in Norwich, a building that has been used for hundreds of years by Mayors and merchants of the city.