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Re: Old Chinese Silk or Rice paper paintings

Posted By: Bill H
Posted Date: Sep 20, 2012 (01:28 AM)

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At the risk of confusing the issue, I thought I'd show this gouache on pith paper painting of the 'Ascension to the Throne of the Xuantong Emperor' (per a label on its matting). The preceding Guangxu emperor died in 1908, so this painting can't antedate that year. However, what appeared to be the original frame of this picture had a page from an August 1933 Chinese newspaper (Minguo 22nd year) as an internal liner beneath the mat.

In my estimation, the piece likely was painted much closer to the time of its framing than might be expected from its old look. Such pictures seem to have been hot tourist items in major cities of China in the early years of the 20th century, before the Japanese invasion in 1936. Somebody had to be copying the older examples to supply the demand, so I wonder if a lot of these works on pith, which is easily soiled and tattered, doesn't tend to invite overestimation of age, like dirtied Chinese dishes.

Anyway, just one collector's perspective.

Best regards,

Bill H.



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