Qing Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

A pillow book was meant to teach a young bride about the art of lovemaking. This rare museum-quality 19th century example is composed of 12 masterfully pai...

Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...

Lovely and authentic all original mid 19th century pair of small Chinese Pith Paintings; under glass and double matted in a single plain narrow black straight reeded trimmed wooden f...

Difficult to find set of six diminutive mid 19th century Qing Dynasty hand painted Chinese Pith watercolor paintings; prepared for the tourist trade; depicting mores and customs of C...

Fine quality three character mid 19th century (circa 1850) watercolor on pith paper; a Chinese painting; depicting an Emperor with. perhaps, a concubine by his side and a page or eun...

Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...

Fabulous pair of mid 19th century Qing Dynasty hand painted watercolor Chinese Pith paintings; subjects attributed to Emperor Xianfeng and Consort Qing. Emperor Xianfeng was the 8th ...

Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “spring palace paintings,” these ink and watercolor illustrations imagined the sensual delights of courtly life. Taken from an album of erotic paintings, this framed leaf departs from a tradition of depicting lovers in risqué outdoor settings by picturing an amorous coupling in a distinctly Qing-dynasty interior. The uniquely detailed surroundings shed light on the prevailing aesthetic tastes in decor and furniture of 19th-century China. Note the carved wooden headrest, blue and white censer...

Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...

Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...

A female flautist is proudly on display in this circa 1850 Chinese watercolor pith painting; as the subject portrays an element of Chinese culture wanting to be expressed and shown t...

This circa 1855 Chinese hand painted pith painting portrays a Chinese tradition of a celebratory warrior dance to display fighting dominance; the two parties being a typical warrior ...

Exquisitely painted with delicate line work and a subdued color palette, this Chinese scroll painting is an early 20th century reproduction of a famous...

Drawn with a fine line and fresh, sketched quality, this folk hanging unites two scenes of lucky hoho lotus boys circumscribed in frames punctuated with fruits such as pomegranate, symbolic of prosperity and good fortune. On top, the two explore the natural wonders of the world...

Pair of fine quality smaller size mid 19th century Chinese watercolor "Pith Paintings", (probably by the same artist) portraying life in that country at the time. The paintings exemp...

Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits for long life, health, and prosperity. Commemorative portraits, which came into vogue in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, were commissioned specifically for ancestor worship and were believed to house the spirits of the deceased. When properly cared for, one's ancestors were believed to be a powerful source of honor, protection, and good luck. This pair of ancestor portraits was hand-painted in the 19th century and beautifully depicts a Qing-dynasty couple. While some ancestral portraits offer a more stylized representation of one's ancestors, this particular pair is painted with incredible realism and life-like expressions. Rather than depict the pair in a regal hall wearing elaborate finery, the couple is shown in a quiet home environment, seated at either end of a square tea table. Their surroundings are minimal, practically undecorated, and they wear simple, matching blue silk robes...

Superb quality to this mid 19th century Chinese watercolor pith painting depicting a consort (perhaps one of Emperor Xianfeng's), being served tea by her personal and loyal eunuch; b...

With careful brushwork, this 19th-century painting honors the four treasures of the scholar's studio - paper, calligraphy brush, ink, and inkstone. Essential to his way of life, the ...

A scroll and a small lantern depicted in this 19th-century painting suggest the romantic notion of a Chinese scholar painting in the evening hours. Re...

Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. This 19th-century painting is delicately brushed of gouache and ink on fabric and was originally part of a set of eight backing a wooden screen in northern China. The figure depicted is one of the mythical Eight Immortals of Taoism. Said to have attained immortality through their studies of the natural world, each of the Eight Immortals represents a different condition in life and together they impart a blessing of prosperity and longevity. Depicted here is immortal Lan Caihe, the patron saint of florists and gardeners. Standing atop a lotus leaf in open water, they hold a gardening hoe in one hand and a basket for flowers...