SET OF TWELVE CHINESE PITH PAINTINGS
QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000
Auction: 16 May 2025 from 09:00 BST
Description
清 外銷通草紙園林庭院人物圖 鏡框（一組十二幅）
ink and colour on pith paper, variously and finely depicting figures within courtyard gardens in Canton, framed (12)
Dimensions
largest approx. 38.5x 41.7cm with frame; approx. 28cm x 31.2cm without frame
Provenance
Private collection, London;
Four paintings with a rectangular paper label on the back frames, reading ‘F. DUPRE 141, Faub St. Honore PARIS’;
Another four paintings with a rectangular label on the back frames, reading: “Martyn Gregory, 34 Bury St., St James’s, London S.W.1. 01 839 3731/ Exhibition: Chinnery and Paintings of the China Coast/ Catalogue 51, no. 114/ YOUQUA (fl. 1840-1870), Gouache on pith paper; 6 ½ x 10 ½ ins/ One of a set of four garden scenes taken from an album, with the studio label on the flysheet: ‘Youqua Painter/ Old Street no 34’ (The Canton address of Youqua's earlier practice)”.
倫敦私人收藏； 四幅畫的後框上貼有長方形紙標籤，上面寫著「F. DUPRE 141，Faub St. Honore 巴黎」； 另外四幅畫的後框上貼有長方形紙標籤，書：「Martyn Gregory, 34 Bury St., St James’s, 倫敦 S.W.1. 01 839 3731 。展覽： Chinnery and Paintings of the China Coast, 圖錄 51，編號 114/ 煜呱 （活躍於 1840-1870 年），通草紙水粉；選自畫冊中的一組四個花園場景之一，外頁上貼有工作室標籤：‘煜呱畫家/老街 34 號’（煜呱 早期在廣州的工作室地址）」。
Footnote
Before 1840 trade between China and Europe was the monopoly of a dozen or so merchants in Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China, known as 'hong merchants'. Some of them lived in big mansions with magnificent gardens, in which they entertained their foreign customers. So much was written or spoken about these gardens that eventually every European or American visiting Canton would make an effort to see them. Paintings such as this were produced for those who did not have the opportunity to make a personal visit.
Youqua is regarded as one of the finest Chinese export painters active from the 1840's to the 1880's. Little is known about the life of this Cantonese export painter, but he is known for his fine works in Western style depicting port scenes, landscapes, still lifes and flowers. Youqua originally started in Canton at number 34 Old Street, corresponded to the address on the label of this lot, and later opened a second studio in Hong Kong at number 107 Queen's Road, both under the name of 'Yeehing'. By the 1850's Youqua was regarded as the best studio at that time.
Export paintings depicting garden scenes similar to the ones offered in this lot are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, one in pith paper, accession no. 9127:5; the rest watercolour on paper, accession nos. D.60-1903, D.61-1903, D.52-1903, and D.47-1903.
1840年以前，中國與歐洲之間的貿易由廣東一帶的十餘名商人壟斷，這些商人被稱為「行商」。其中一些行商居住在宏偉的府邸內，府邸內有壯麗的園林，他們於此款待外國客商。這些園林聞名遐邇，被大量記述或談論，以至於凡是到訪廣州的歐洲及美國人，無不竭力尋訪一睹其風采。正因如此，當時便有畫師創作此類繪畫，以供無法親自造訪者欣賞。
煜呱被認為是 19 世紀 40 年代至 19 世紀 80 年代最優秀的中國外銷畫家之一。人們對這位廣東外銷畫家的生活知之甚少，但他以描繪港口場景、風景、靜物和花卉的西方風格的精美作品而聞名。煜呱 最初在廣州舊街 34 號成立，與此地塊標籤上的地址相對應，後來在香港皇后大道 107 號開設了第二家工作室，均以「Yeehing」為名。到了 19 世紀 50 年代，Youqua 被認為是當時最好的工作室。
參與本拍品中所呈現之園林庭院場景相似的外銷畫，現藏於維多利亞與阿爾伯特博物館，其一繪於通草紙，館藏號「9127:5」；其餘水彩紙本，館藏號「D.60-1903」、「D.61-1903」、「D.52-1903」及「D.47-1903」，可資比較。