Page 142 - Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Sept 2015
P. 142
8166
8166
ATTRIBUTED TO TINGQUA (MID-19TH CENTURY)
Flowers and Insects
A set of eight paintings, gouache on paper, each composition a delicately rendered study of
botanical and entomological specimens.
6 1/2 x 8 1/4in (16.5 x 20.9cm) dimensions of the largest
$6,000 - 9,000
傳庭呱 花蟲冊頁 水彩紙本 冊頁八開
Provenance
Purchased at Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet, Hong Kong, 1977
Botanical and entomological studies created in China for the export market became popular
after 1756, when an imperial decree was lifted, allowing Europeans and Americans to trade
with China through the port of Guangdong. Whereas tea, silk and porcelain were among the
most sought after commodities, native Chinese plants such as peonies, lilies, hydrangea, and
lilacs were among the numerous species that were introduced to European and American
gardens in the late 18th and 19th centuries. For a careful study of Qing botanical paintings
for the West see Karina H. Corrigan “Chinese Botanical Paintings for the Export Market”, The
Magazine Antiques, June 2004.
140 | BONHAMS
