Set of Seven Chinese Watercolours of Fruit on Pith
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Set of Seven Chinese Watercolours of Fruit on Pith
About the Item
The detail and delicate color balance used in these works are some of the hallmarks of Sunqua’s earlier work- as time went on, his colors became more bold and his compositions rather more sophisticated, but it was the attention to detail and sharp, crisp strokes of his early efforts that brought him renown.
Normally working in oils, Sunqua painted in watercolor and gouache in the 1830’s- late 1840’s, producing albums and single paintings for export and trade during this time. He was an accomplished artist, whom Crossman says : “...would seem to belong to an Italian or European tradition of ship and port painting”, so good were his compositions and palettes. (Crossman, The China Trade, p. 88) He was active from 1830 through the 1870’s, working at both Canton and Macao, and was one of the first Chinese artists to sign on the front his own work. (Crossman, p. 174)
Reference: Chinese Export Watercolours by Craig Clunas ( Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series), page 89 for very similar composition of a Hawfinch on a branch.
Gouache (from the Italian guazzo, "water paint, splash") is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. Gouache differs from watercolour in that the particles are larger, the ratio of pigment to water is much higher, and the presence of an inert white pigment such as chalk. This makes gouache heavier and more opaque, with greater reflective qualities.[1]
Pith paper is commonly mistaken as rice paper. Pith comes from the central column of spongy cellular tissue in the stem of a small tree called Tetrapanax Papyrifera, native to south-west China. It has had a variety of uses, some going back many centuries. At the imperial court both men and women wore coloured flowers made from pith in their hair. It has been used to produce toys for children and in craftwork. It is still sold as Chinese medicine to make a diuretic infusion. For use in painting, it is cut by hand with a knife into thin sheets from short lengths of the spongy tissue. Cutting is highly skilled and the constraints of the process mean that the finished sheets for painting seldom, if ever, measure more than about 30cms by 20cms. The sheets are dried, trimmed and used for painting without any further processing.
The set could be split.
- Dimensions:Height: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 12
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1840
- Condition:Good with typical light occasional foxing.
- Seller Location:Downingtown, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: NY74331stDibs: U1106208610216
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