JAPANESE MERCHANT SHIP WITH THE FLAGS, CRESTS, AND INSIGNIA OF THE OWNERS AND THE MERCHANT HOUSES [translation of manuscript caption title]

[Off the coast of Japan, ca. 1805].. Watercolor on paper, 6½ x 9¾ inches. Original manuscript caption attached to verso. Small chip in upper left corner, else near fine. Mounted at upper corners onto heavier paper stock. Archival matting, and protected with mylar sheet. A fine watercolor view of a Japanese merchant ship plying the waters off the coast of Japan. The work was done during the Krusenstern expedition, the first major Russian scientific voyage in the Pacific and the first circumnavigation of the world by a Russian ship. It was executed by the expedition's artist, Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau. The detailed work gives an excellent view of the technical aspects of Japanese vessels commonly used in the coastal trade, showing the ship's high bow, its rigging, the long rudder used to steer the vessel, and six crew members hard at work. The insignia of the ship is clearly shown on its stern. The crests or flags used by four other merchants are shown on the same paper along the right edge, just outside the border which surrounds the image of the ship. The original manuscript caption reads: "Ein Japanisches Kauffahrtsschiff aus Miako mit den Flaggen, Wappen und Inschriften der Warenbesitzer und Handels Compagnien. Hermann L. v. Loewenstern hat das Schiff mit dem Tauwerk gezeichnet. Dr. W. G. Tilesius ad nat. pinxit." The note explains that this watercolor was painted by Tilesius after a sketch by Loewenstern, fourth lieutenant on the Krusenstern expedition. In the English translation of the account of the Krusenstern voyage, Loewenstern is described as "an amiable and cultivated mind, he added a very extensive and well grounded knowledge of his profession."

Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau (1769- 1857) accompanied the Krusenstern expedition on the ships, Nadeshda and Newa, during the first Russian circumnavigation, from 1803 to 1806. After Russian painter Kurjlandzow left the expedition in Kamchatka in 1804, Tilesius became responsible for recording interesting observations relating to the geography and natural history of the places they visited. He contributed many detailed designs for the illustrations in the third volume of Krusenstern's account of the voyage, and also published several papers of his own research.

Such original art from the Krusenstern circumnavigation is exceedingly rare.