SOUTH AMERICA Ferdinand Bellermann (German, 1814 – 1889), Hacienda de San Esteban de Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, oil on canvas, 1847, Estimate £150,000-200,000

Painted with great attention to detail in terms of flora, topography, and human activity, Bellermann executed Hacienda de San Esteban de Puerto Cabello, Venezuela within two years of his return to Germany from Venezuela. This is the earliest known oil from a small series depicting one of the artist's favourite subjects: the sugar mill at San Esteban outside Puerto Cabello in northern Venezuela. After studying under Karl Blechen at the Berlin Academy, Bellermann attracted the attention of the polymath, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who had travelled in Venezuela in 1799-1800, at the beginning of his legendary expedition to Latin America. Humboldt in turn persuaded the King of Prussia Frederick Wilhelm IV to offer the young artist a travel stipend, on condition that his sketchbooks and studies would be given to the Prussian Royal Collection on his return. Bellermann was initially invited by the German merchant and Prussian Consul in Puerto Cabello, Carl Rühs, to travel on the Margareth to Venezuela. Having arrived at the port of La Guaira in July 1842, Bellermann sailed on to Puerto Cabello, where he met the German merchant Ludwig Glöckler and received his invitation to the San Esteban plantation. Bellermann spent over three years travelling in Venezuela, visiting sites such as Guácharo cave, the Tovar German Colony, the Andes and Maracaibo, often in the company of the naturalist Carl Moritz. Bellermann’s numerous drawings provided a valuable contribution to the study of Venezuela's topography and botany.

THE ARCTIC François Etienne Musin (Belgian, 1820 – 1888), HMS Resolute in Search of Sir John Franklin, oil on canvas, 1850, Estimate £80,000-120,000

Painted in April 1850, HMS Resolute in Search of Sir John Franklin vividly brings to life one leading mission in the heroic search for British explorer Sir John Franklin. At that time the explorer and his crew aboard HMS Erebus and Terror were understood to be in difficulty in the Canadian Arctic, however their whereabouts remained unknown. Led by the Admiralty and championed energetically by Lady Franklin herself, numerous searches for Franklin were conducted from the western and eastern coasts of Canada. Still optimistic, in 1850 a squadron of four vessels commanded by HMS Resolute (depicted here) was dispatched, using dog sleds and even primitive hydrogen balloons with messages attached. Unbeknownst to those at home, Franklin had already died some three years earlier. Franklin’s expedition, the countless searches led to find him, and later the tragic fate that befell the men caught the imagination of the Romantic movement.

Having joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14, John Franklin served in the Battle of Trafalgar and subsequently became one of the most famous names in polar exploration. In 1818 he was commander of the Trent, with orders to sail to the North Pole and thence into the Northwest passage from the Bering Strait, searching for a route which would connect trade between the Atlantic and Pacific via the Arctic. Franklin’s ships were last seen by a whaler off Baffin Bay in August 1845, and they had enough supplies to last until summer 1848 – longer than the two summers thought necessary for the exploration of the Northwest passage. Shortly afterwards traces of Franklin’s expedition began to be found and the graves of three of the crew, who had died in early 1846, were discovered on Beechey Island. The Admiralty abandoned its search in January 1854, The Times declaring that the expeditions were by now ‘wasting time upon a search for dead men’s bones’. Lady Franklin nevertheless continued to fund missions in search of her husband and his crew, defending them against lurid rumours of cannibalism and seeking proof that their exploration had not been in vain. Although none of Franklin’s crew was rescued alive, numerous traces were found (and later exhibited in London), and the missions produced valuable information which helped map northern Canada.

Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1992, the wrecks of Franklin’s ships HMS Erebus and Terror were discovered only recently, in 2014 and 2016 respectively off King William Island. As climate change disrupts ice in the Arctic, the North-West passage has today become navigable for small ships.

ANTARCTICA Edward Seago (British, 1910-1974), The John Biscoe at Base 'O', oil on board, Estimate £25,000-30,000

Edward Seago had the opportunity to visit Antarctica in 1957 upon the invitation of his friend the Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip felt the artist might be stimulated by such a unique topography and with no artist having painted the land mass since Edward Wilson (1872-1912) aboard Captain Scott's ill-fated 1912 expedition, Seago responded enthusiastically to the challenge. The body of work produced reveals the artist's talent, superbly evoking the 'otherworldliness' of the floating icebergs, the wide seas, cold air and distinct light of Antarctica. Seago travelled with Prince Philip aboard HMY Britannia, crossing the Antarctic Circle on 1 January 1957. The John Biscoe at Base 'O' depicts The John Biscoe, which the Royal Party transferred to in order to visit the most southerly of the FIDS (Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, renamed British Antarctic Survey in 1962) research bases on the Antarctic Peninsula. The John Biscoe was named after the early nineteenth-century English mariner and explorer who commanded the first expedition known to have sighted the areas named Enderby Land and Graham Land along the coast of Antarctica.

CHINA Chinese School, Late 19th Century, The Ports of Hong Kong, Macao, Canton and Amoy, oil on canvas, painted circa 1880, Estimate £75,000-115,000

Following the First Opium War, Hong Kong was formally ceded to the British in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. The view of Hong Kong demonstrates the settlement's subsequent development into a thriving port. A flag tower is visible on the top of the highest hill to the right known as Victoria Peak (installed in 1861). Visible in the harbour are British, French, American, and Dutch shipping, together with a three-masted P&O ship and a three-masted barque owned by Jardine, Matheson & Co.

The view of the Praya Grande in Macao showcases some of the most iconic buildings of the time, some of which are still visible today. In the background on the right are visible St. Anthony's church and the façade of St. Paul, built in 1582. The façade is what remains of the church, destroyed in a fire in 1835. The fortified castle Fortaleza do Monte, built in 1617 by the Portuguese, dominates the harbour atop the hill to the right, while Penha and its church are visible on the hill to the left. Situated at the mouth of the Pearl River, Canton (now Guangzhou) had long been a flourishing trade city, being the central focus of China and the west under the Canton system, up until the First Opium War. The view shows the Chinese Godowns with the city wall in the background, and an English paddle steamer, junks, sampans and a marine policy junk. In 1842, Xiamen (once known as Amoy) became one of the five Treaty Ports opened to British trade. The view is from the island of Gulangyu, or Kulangsu, now a pedestrian-only island which was then a foreign enclave. Amoy junks (with an eye painted on the bow) are visible, as well as English and French shipping. The residences fly French, Dutch, and Portuguese flags.