Album with Eight Original 19th Century Chinese Paintings
Hardcover. Leporello.
Hardcover. Leporello. . Very Good. N.d., 19th Century. Album, closed, oblong, 30 by 367 cm. The paintings measure 21 by 27 cm. All the paintings have Chinese captions written inconspicuously with a calligraphic hand. The paintings depict two men picking fruit off a tree, a man astride a galloping horse, a Chinese satyr (hairy man upper half, cloven hooved footed), a traveling man and boy, a primitive man with absurdly drooping breasts, a warrior (?) sitting against an animal that looks like a cross between a horse and a big cat, a near nude man sowing seeds, and a group of hunters with bows and arrows. All the paintings are on a brownish paper, and share a similar muted palette, although there are touches of bright red and some other colors in the dress. Even without knowing whether there is an intended narrative or other unifying principle, we find the whole quite cohesive and arresting. Condition: wear to the cloth on the cover, with some fabric loss and abrading. A few tiny chips to the edges of the paintings. (Inventory #: 005860)