Emu (Dromaius Novae Hollandaiae)

Whether this emu, a bird found only in Australia, was painted from life is not known. The 1700s and 1800s saw widespread fascination for, and trade in, unfamiliar creatures. Many passed through the Strait of Malacca, a bustling shipping route between Indonesia and Malaysia that links the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The painting is attributed to a Chinese artist for its similarity to illustrations by artists from southern China commissioned by William Farquhar between 1803 and 1818 to record the plants and animals of the Malay Peninsula, including those in his own menagerie. Farquhar was then British Resident and Commandant of Malacca (Melaka). His pre-photography passion mirrored that of expatriates across colonial India and Southeast Asia who commissioned images such as this, combining regional painting techniques with a European approach to naturalism.