(19th century)

Spinning and Selling Silk; Bringing the Tea from the Fields for Sorting and Drying, the later after Tingqua (active circa 1830-1870), both extracted from 19th century production albums, unsigned, gouache on paper, sight 13 x 107-3/4 in.; matching gilt wood frames, silk mats, 24-3/4 x 28-1/2 x 1-1/4 in.

Provenance: Estate of Diane Parker, Thomasville, Georgia

Note: Chinese export watercolors were created in China’s port cities during the late 18th and 19th centuries for sale to Western buyers. Initially, these works served primarily as souvenirs brought home by merchants. By the mid-19th century, however, they had evolved into commercial products in their own right.

Produced in workshops using early mass production techniques, these paintings were executed in watercolor or gouache. They were often issued in thematic sets depicting trades, domestic scenes, gardens, boats, birds, and figures such as mandarins. Particularly popular were series illustrating tea production, silk manufacturing, and porcelain making - subjects that explained the origins of goods being exported to the West.

References: Metadata for this document has been drawn from the Winterthur Library catalog.