Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

Malacca, Malaysia, circa 1807

Art Gallery of New South Wales

It is not known whether this emu, a bird found only in Australia, was painted from life, memory or second-hand reports. The 1700s and 1800s had seen a widespread fascination for, and trade in, unfamiliar creatures. Many animals were transported through the Strait of Malacca (Melaka), a bustling shipping route between present day Indonesia and Malaysia that links the Indian and Pacific oceans. The painting is similar to illustrations commissioned by William Farquhar, then-British Resident and Commandant of Malacca (and ancestor of Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada), between 1803 and 1818 to record the plants and animals of the Malay Peninsula, including those in his own menagerie. It was likely painted by an artist of Indian, Chinese or Southeast Asian heritage working on the peninsula. His pre-photography passion mirrored that of expatriates across colonial India and Southeast Asia who commissioned images that combined regional painting techniques with a European approach to naturalism.