Chinese Export School
Botanical Paintings of Roses
Fushan, China: Mid 19th Century
Watercolor on rice paper
9.75 x 6.75 inches each, approximate
Provenance: Collection of Dr. J.R. Riley and descendants
$250 to $450 each
Botanical Paintings of Roses
Fushan, China: Mid 19th Century
Fushan, China: Mid 19th Century
Main Chinese Botanicals Page
White & Blue Flowers | Yellow Flowers | Chrysanthemums | Roses |Fruit | Buds & Blossoms
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A large collection of colorful watercolor natural history studies of flowers, fruits and vegetables, trees and bamboo painted by Chinese artists from nature. They are from an album identified as having been given to an American named Dr. J.R. Riley in 1850 in Fushan, China (then known as "Fuchan") and then passed on to desendants. Each has an applied small red label in the top right, with Chinese letters, presumably identifying the flower or fruit. Some of the species are identified in pencil on the back sides of the paintings in English or Latin.
These works are typical of Chinese export paintings, which portrayed natural history subjects including Chinese cultivated flowers and indigenous birds, Chinese acrobats and trades, and renditions of trade ships in Chinese ports. Chinese export art combined the traditional Chinese approach with Western aesthetics concerning light, shadow and the inclusion of realistic detail. These particular works conform to that style in their use of broad flat areas of color with subtle shading and delineation of the veining of the leaves. In recent years, there has been increased interest in studying and collecting Chinese Export botanicals. For example the Peabody Essex Museum sponsored an exhibit in 2004, “Peonies on Paper: Chinese Export Botanical Painting.”
Dedication page (all in the same hand, presumably written in 1903):
Painted by native Chinese artists – from nature and given to Dr. J.R. Riley in Fuchan, China, in 1850.
"To Adah from Papa"
Cincinnati Ohio
April 9 –1867.
To Fannie from Momma, May 12, 1903.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Some with minor irregularities, chips, short tears at edges. Some images extend to far edge of left or right side, as issued.
References:
“Peonies on Paper: Chinese Export Botanical Painting.” Peabody Essex Museum. 2004. http://pem.org/exhibitions/exhibition.php?id=21 (23 December 2004).