GENERAL DOMVILLE in Split, Croatia

The Painting’s Artistic Origins

As shown in Image 1, this artwork by an unknown artist (possibly Pun Woo, active in Hong Kong during the 1880s) is attributed to the Indo-Chinese/Anglo-Chinese School. Titled “The Ship General Domville in Hong Kong Harbour,” it was created around 1884, measures 44 cm high by 59 cm wide, and is part of the Collection of Croatian Maritime Museum Split (Accession #HPMS-775:SLT-1742-ZL). Ship portraiture developed in Europe in the 16th century and by the 19th century was a well-established style in Europe and North America. Although this painting of the General Domville is not signed, it bears great resemblance to the works of the Chinese School (sometimes referred to as Indo-Chinese or Anglo-Chinese School) dedicated to ship portraiture.

The painting style of this school was shared by marine painters of Chinese heritage who worked in ports of India, China, and other parts of Asia between approximately 1850 and 1910. A large portion of their profit came from European and North American shipowners and mariners who often commissioned local artists to create works to take back home as souvenirs of their international voyages. Since the General Domville sailed in Far Eastern waters, specifically to the ports of Bombay (1877), Calcutta (1880), Karachi and Rangoon (1881), Hong Kong (1884), and Yokohama (1888), records allow us to date the painting to approximately 1884. Research indicates that it was possibly painted by Pun Woo, who was working in Hong Kong in the 1880s.

The Ship’s Depiction

The painting, with detail shown in Image 2, shows the General Domville in almost full sail, entering Hong Kong Harbour with an unidentified house flag atop the main mast, and the British red ensign flying from the signal hoist off the spanker gaff. In the background, to the right, are some other vessels including a Chinese junk as well as a steam vessel.

The General Domville: Construction and Ownership

The General Domville, a 1605-ton ship, was built in 1876 in the Cruickshank & Pittsfield shipyard in Saint John, New Brunswick, as part of the Ring Fleet owned by Zebedee Ring. The shipyard’s co-owner, James F. Cruickshank, often was recorded as Master on Ring Fleet ships and was listed as the first captain of the General Domville.

The ownership of sailing vessels during this time period was organized into sixty-four shares. The original owners, all from Saint John, NB, were:

• Zebedee Ring, Merchant (sixteen shares)
• James Domville, Merchant (sixteen shares)
• Charles George Turnbull, Merchant (eight shares)
• James Frederick Cruickshank, Shipbuilder (fourteen shares)
• Gideon Prescott, Gentleman (eight shares)
• Susannah Robertson, Widow (two shares)

The vessel owed its name to Lieutenant General James William Domville, who was born in the English town of Greenwich in 1817. From the 1840s onward, Domville commanded garrison troops in British Honduras (now Belize), moving to Rothesay, New Brunswick, upon retirement in 1875. He died in November 1883 and is buried in Fernhill Cemetery in Saint John. He was the father of James Domville (1842-1921), one of the major shareholders of the vessel.

Launch and Early Voyages

Under the Marine Intelligence data published in the New York Times on May 11, 1876, it is stated that a new sailing ship, General Domville, arrived at Saint John, NB, on the 10th of May, launched at nearby Courtenay Bay. According to archival records, on June 7th she sailed on her first voyage destined for the port of Liverpool, England, where she arrived on July 7th.

Following Zebedee Ring’s death in Liverpool, England, in 1878, his fleet was taken over by Oliver Pittfield, one of the owners of the shipyard where the General Domville was built. However, running a business in the last years of the wooden sailing ship era proved to be too difficult, and Pittsfield went into bankruptcy in 1888.

The Ship’s Career

Apart from being part of the Ring Fleet, the General Domville sailed under the flag of the Wright Brothers and Cruickshank, Gass & Co. At one time, she was also owned by James F. Cruickshank, in whose shipyard she had been built, and after 1888 she became part of the Thomson Fleet.

During her service, the General Domville completed at least thirteen long-distance journeys. She anchored in numerous ports, of which those in western France, Belgium, and Germany are the closest to the Adriatic Sea where her portrait is kept today.

During her lifespan, there were forty-five transfers of shares recorded, and the last transaction lists eighteen owners, each possessing between one and eight shares. Facts about her ownership, commanders, and routes are unknown for the period from November 1883, when she arrived in the French port of Le Havre, until February 1884, when she sailed from Ardrossan, Scotland, to Hong Kong. She likely sailed from Le Havre to Ardrossan to get cargo for Hong Kong. Her date of arrival in Hong Kong is unknown, but it was probably during 1884, when the ship portrait was painted. Her next known port of call was Liverpool in August 1885.

The General Domville’s Final Voyage

On May 5, 1891, the General Domville, loaded with a cargo of wool and nitrate, set sail from the port of Taltal, Chile, for New York with Captain James A. Corbett as Master. She never arrived. The captain’s family in Great Village, Nova Scotia, never heard from him again, and none of the crew members survived the loss of the General Domville. Her records were closed on December 4, 1891, and under her crew’s resting place was written, “Pacific Ocean.”

Conservation of the Painting

Images 3 and 4 show the painting before and after conservation treatment, which was performed in 2009 by Mariana Benković, an independent contractor. The restoration has preserved this important piece of maritime history for future generations.

A Record of Voyages and Captains

The article includes detailed lists of the General Domville’s voyages, spanning from her maiden journey from Saint John to Liverpool in 1876 to her final, tragic voyage from Taltal, Chile, toward New York in 1891. It also catalogs her various owners, from Zebedee Ring’s Ring Fleet to William Thomson’s Thomson Fleet, and her masters, beginning with James Frederick Cruickshank and ending with James A. Corbett.

This painting serves as a tangible connection between the maritime histories of New Brunswick, Canada, and Split, Croatia. It exemplifies the global nature of 19th-century maritime commerce and the artistic traditions that developed around it. The presence of this ship portrait in a Croatian museum, thousands of miles from where the vessel was built and operated, speaks to the interconnectedness of maritime communities and the enduring legacy of the age of sail.