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Bound volume of 26 exquisite Chinese watercolor drawings, 22 on rice paper, 4 on regular paper.
N.p., n.d (ca. 1850?). (RICE PAPER PAINTINGS) 4to. Each drawing approximately 6 1/2 x 8/12 in., mounted within a blue border to larger cards (10 1/2 x 12 1/4 in.). Full (American?) 19th-century purple morocco, covers decorated with delicate gilt floral patterns, spine similarly gilt; minor rubbing to binding. Three of the rice paper drawings have sustained substantial damage in the form of splits affecting the images; six have less marked flaws, mainly marginal. and seven have slight, almost imperceptible irregularities; one has about a three inch square loss, although this image, a still life with vase and flowers, is duplicated. In all, 17 of the 26 drawings show some degree of damage, from minor to extensive and we recommend a personal inspection of the album as a whole. ¶ A remarkably beautiful album of exquisite watercolors mostly on the sheerest and most delicate of membranes: rice paper. These watercolors are mostly of traditional Chinese subjects: birds (ibis, magpie, doves), butterlies, flowers (cherry blossoms, lotus) and flower arrangements, insects (silkworm, butterflies), men and women with Oriental features in costume, as well as two magnificent views of harbors, boats floating in a distant seascape, surrounded by hills and sky. Considering the fragility of the medium, a rare and particularly beautiful survival
Offered for US$ 2500.00 by: James Cummins Bookseller - Book number: 11650