Drawing by william alexander, draughtsman of the macartney embassy to china in 1793. A stone building in the form of a vessel located at the residence of the british ambassador during his stay in peking. The upper part of this whimsical building was used by the embassy as a dining room. The hull was of hewn stone situated in a small pond that was filled with water by buckets from a neighboring well. The fragments of rocks artificially piled on each other with flower pots containing dwarf trees convey an idea of chinese tastes in ornamental gardening. Over the roof of the stone vessel, and above the wall enclosing this extensive mansion, the tops of a few pagodas, a triumphal arch, and other public buildings within the walls of peking are visible. Alexander noted that this great mansion was built by a late custom collector, whose immense wealth was confiscated after frauds and extortion were detected. Image taken from the costume of china, illustrated in forty-eight coloured engravings, published in london in 1805. Date: circa 1800.
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