A New (Old) Leaf

We encounter and deal in the materiality of paper every day, so it is envigorating to once in a while handle non-paper... namely leaf. Whilst these works are 19th-century and Chinese—travel mementos collected by western officers and merchants (hence our dealings with them)—the ancient art of painting on peepal tree leaf originates in India and predates the invention of paper. There is something beautifully spectral in its skeletal form, whilst the gouache is joyous and insistent.

View the whole collection of Chinese Peepal Leaf paintings.