18th Century Chinese Watercolors for Export

Chinese Export Paintings, 1644-1911 A.D.
Han people;Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Watercolor on pith; 3 x 4 1/2 in.
32203A
Gift of Miss Ruth Myers Painted on pith, a delicate and transparent vegetable-based paper, these tiny portrayals of Chinese people are vivid in color and in their ability to capture the imagination. The paintings are part of a ten painting set placed in a glass-topped box which allows the uppermost of the stack to be displayed. First brought to America by merchants, missionaries and sailors as souvenirs, the small trading card-like paintings were an instant hit with an audience who had little to no visual exposure to Chinese people, customs, or life. By 1830 the cards were able for purchase from dealers first in New York and then throughout the U.S. The demand for such items fueled watercolor production in China and assembly lines of artists began turning out thousands of the small images representing a broad spectrum of subject matters including ranks of people from commoners to the Emperor himself, views of cities, animal and plant life, daily work and professions, ceremonies, transportation devices, opium and tea production, torture techniques and various other customs. To satisfy Western taste and curiosity, the painters favored the idealistic and embellished over the strictly realistic.

This particular set of watercolors includes several depictions of people - wealthy and elaborately dressed men and women, working class people, and a woman with an opened shirt holding an infant. The popularity of these paintings predates the prolific collecting and distribution of Cabinet Cards in America by more than 30 years. Like the Chinese watercolors, the photographic images mounted on paper board documented an encyclopedic amount of imagery and subject matter from the world over.
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