Watercolor On Marrow Paper Depicting Tea Drying, China, 19th Century

Watercolor depicting four figures working at the various stages of drying tea leaves.

It probably comes from an album of paintings depicting scenes from daily life. This type of collection, intended for foreign travelers, developed mainly in Canton, the epicenter of trade with European merchants, from the beginning of the 19th century, reaching a peak period in the 1830s and 1840s. Several workshops developed there, such as those of the painters Tingqua, Lamqua and Yoeequa. The latter created models that were then copied on a large scale by their workshops, particularly by transfer.

Our painting can be compared to a similar work in the collections of the municipal library of Versailles. The latter could come from the Yoeequa workshop because of its proximity to another painting that was part of an album of twelve watercolors illustrating the different stages of the tea trade and from this workshop.

Pith paper is a type of support, similar to rice paper but less expensive, made from the pith of the Tetrapanax papyrifer.

A label on the back testifies to the work's passage through the hands of John Gilbert, a print seller and framer established in Cork, Ireland.

Tears and traces of white paint in the paper to be noted.
Wear at the frame.
As is.

Dimensions:
Framed: 25 x 36.5 cm
On view: 21 x 32.5 cm