PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Eager to prove itself worthy of trading on the world stage as a newly formed nation 250 years ago, America—and especially Philadelphians—embarked on the risky venture of trading with China by entrusting private citizens with the work of establishing trade and diplomatic relationships with the Chinese. Merchants saw dramatic opportunities to make money, building some of the fortunes that helped expand Philadelphia’s role as a major port and city. To celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, on March 20, 2026, Independence Seaport Museum (ISM) will open Seeking Profit and Power: Philadelphia, China Trade, and the Making of America, a new exhibition informed by the latest scholarship and featuring approximately 150 unique, rarely seen objects from its collection ranging from ship logs and cargo manifests to examples of rare Chinese export porcelain; Chinese silks and sample books to portraits of American and Chinese merchants, some of which will be exhibited for the first time. Additionally, museums and private collections, including George Washington’s Mount Vernon, The Society of The Cincinnati, The Dieterich American Foundation, and Andalusia Historic House and Gardens have also loaned important objects for Seeking Profit and Power. While other institutions can tell different aspects of this story, ISM is uniquely positioned to share it through its mission and location on the Delaware River, where Philadelphia’s China trade vessels launched and their cargo was unloaded. The exhibition will be on view through January 3, 2028.

“This exhibition tells the story of a critical moment in the history of our nation,” said Peter S. Seibert, president and CEO of Independence Seaport Museum. “When the United States declared its independence from Great Britain, we also separated ourselves from the rules and regulations that governed overseas trade. As we came together as a nation 250 years ago, we also stepped out on the world’s stage for the first time. The ISM team, consisting not only of our curatorial, exhibition and education staff and an exceptional panel of outside scholars, have brought together an amazing assemblage of objects that tell the story of our look to the East as a new global trading power.”

Organized by guest curators Susan Gail Johnson and Brett Palfreyman, Ph.D., Seeking Profit and Power will explore five essential themes. “Making a Nation” will focus on why the United States opened direct trade with China. “Making it Work” will illustrate the tremendous technical and logistical feat traveling the route from Philadelphia to China. “Making Money” will show the array of commodities the new nation could trade for sought-after Chinese tea, porcelain, and other goods. “Encountering Each Other” will explain how the two cultures learned about one another through the goods that they traded. The final section, "The Old China Trade," explores the end of the era and the place it still holds in American memory. “Our goal for the exhibition is to show visitors that a teacup is more than just a teacup – it is an object that tells a story about sailing halfway around the world, America’s taste for luxury goods, and how the nation’s founders imagined that trade with China might help establish the newly independent nation as a player on the world stage,” said Susan Gail Johnson. “We hope visitors will never look at a teacup the same way again.”

Among the vast array of objects that visitors will be able to view in Seeking Profit and Power is an exceptionally rare letter carried by Captain John Green (1735-1796), a Philadelphian and former officer of the Continental Navy, which introduces him as a citizen of the United States and requests that he be treated “in a becoming manner” and allowed to do business in China as he saw fit. Green captained the Empress of China, the first trading ship to make the journey to China (and back) setting sail from New York Harbor on February 22, 1784, only five months after the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War. The ship, largely funded by Philadelphians, carried ginseng roots and Spanish silver dollars. In addition to this sea letter, Green brought with him a copy of the Declaration of Independence as well as copies of the several treaties made with the different European powers. He was instructed by Daniel Parker, the ship’s owner, to present the documents as necessary to prove that he was representing a legitimate, if newly formed, independent nation. Captain Green’s Sea Letter illustrates that early Americans saw the Empress’ voyage as not only a private effort by merchants to make money, but also a quasi-diplomatic mission to introduce the new United States as a nation worthy of conducting trade on a global scale.

Another featured object in the exhibition is a newly acquired, c. 1790s porcelain bowl with a motif of a ship with American flags that will be exhibited for the first time at ISM. Made in Jingdezhen, China, and decorated in Canton, this bowl shows how Chinese artisans customized porcelain for the new American market. It depicts a ship outfitted with an American flag that closely resembled the flag of the British East India Company, with which the Chinese were familiar. Although some pieces of custom porcelain were less detailed featuring just a coat of arms, initials and the like, more elaborate examples such as this feature intricate hand-painted imagery. It is likely that the motif was copied from a print rather than painted from “life” in port. While the original owner of this bowl is unknown, it was custom made for a wealthy American, likely a merchant, and would have been part of a larger set that may have been divided and dispersed to various family members through the generations.

There will be several paintings that visitors will be able to see in Seeking Profit and Power, and among the portraits is one of the best-known examples of Wu Bingjian, known as Houqua (1769-1843), who was regarded as one of the most respected of the Hong merchants of Canton and was once the richest man in the world. Houqua commissioned portraits of himself for his American trading partners and gave them almost in a manner of giving someone a business card. There are several paintings of Houqua in existence in both museums and private collections; ISM’s oil on canvas (c. 1825) descended through the family of Benjamin Chew Wilcocks (1776–1845). A key player in the development of trade relations with China, in 1813 Wilcocks was commissioned as the consul in Canton, serving until 1822, after which he remained in Canton until 1827 as a merchant before returning home to Philadelphia where he continued to invest in the China trade. This particular painting is in the style of the English painter George Chinnery (1774-1852).

A saucer owned by Martha Washington from the collection at George Washington’s Mount Vernon is another of the interesting objects to be seen on loan in Seeking Profit and Power. Dutch merchant Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1739-1801) arrived in Philadelphia from Canton on April 24, 1796, with “A Box of China for Lady Washington.” It features a chain of fifteen wide green links outlined in black joined by smaller gilded links outlined in red; each of which contains the name of a state: “VIRGINIA.”, “KENTUCKY”, “No CAROLINA.”, “So CAROLINA.”, “GEORGIA.”, “NEW HAMPSHIRE”, “MASSACHUSETTS.”, “VERMONT”, “RHODE ISLAND”, “CONNECTICUT.”, “NEW YORK.”, “IERSEY.”, “PENNSYLVANIA”, “DELAWARE”, and “MARYLAND”, respectively.

A porcelain punch bowl (c. 1784) featuring scenes of the Canton Hongs adorning the outside and with a probable image of the ship Empress of China on the inside has been loaned from The Dietrich American Foundation. The decoration on the bowl depicts the Danish, French, Imperial Austrian, Swedish, English, Dutch, and American flags flying before their respective trading houses along the Pearl River waterfront.

An exquisite example of Chinese goods made for women is a burgundy-colored embroidered shawl, made and purchased in Canton in the mid-19th century of Chinese silk crepe and embroidered with silk floss. Shawls such as this were fashionable accessories for well-dressed Philadelphia women at that time. This shawl was purchased by Rodney Fisher (1798-1863) for his wife, Eliza Bella Fisher (1808-1880). Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant and the unofficial United States consul in Canton from March 1825-1827. ISM acquired the Fisher collection, of which this shawl was included, from a direct descendent of the family.

To ensure Seeking Profit and Power aligns with the best scholarship on the subject of the China Trade, ISM enlisted the support of an esteemed committee to advise the curatorial and education staff on the exhibition’s content and interpretive planning. Advisory committee members include James R. Fichter, associate professor, University of Hong Kong; John Rogers Haddad, professor, Penn State University at Harrisburg; Dael Norwood, assistant professor, University of Delaware; John D. Wong, associate professor, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences; and Kariann Yokota, associate professor, University of Colorado Denver.

Seeking Profit and Power is generously supported by the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the Richard C. von Hess Foundation, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, and WSFS Cares Foundation.

While there are many stories to be celebrated as America honors its 250th anniversary this year, the role Philadelphia played in shaping the new nation’s trade ambitions with China is less known. Seeking Profit and Power: Philadelphia, China Trade, and the Making of America will shine a light on this important and unique aspect of the semiquincentennial’s narratives. Visitors will be sure to find engaging material that will transport them to a foreign and dangerous place and time; this will be an exhibition not to be missed.