Anon. Chinese Bodhi Peepal Leaf Painting Late 18th-century – Qing Dynasty Manchu Archer

An original late 18th-century gouache painting on Bodhi leaf, Qing Dynasty Manchu Archer.

A particularly beautiful 18th-century Chinese painting on Bodhi leaf. The detail on the costume is exceptionally fine.

This is one of a set of Chinese paintings on Bodhi leaf comprising figures of the Qing Dynasty court. The delicate painting style and fine facial features suggest that it was painted at the end of the 18th century, towards the end of the rule of Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799); a number of the male figures are bodyguards or officials of the Imperial court, wearing clothing that matches that of Qianlong Emperor's staff.

The peepal tree, otherwise known as sacred fig or Bodhi tree, is native to south-west China, Indochina and the Indian subcontinent. Its leaves form perfect, delicate, transparent skeletons once dried, and as such are uniquely suited to this art form. The skeleton would typically be varnished, before being painting with vivid, backgroundless genre scenes.

Like Chinese paintings on pith, paintings on peepal leaves were produced for the export market in the late 18th and 19th century. By 1833 the monopoly of trade by the English East India Company had come to an end, opening the China trade to dozens of British companies and seeing the number of merchants and volume of trade flourish. Paintings were produced in port cities to meet increasingly high Western demands for Chinese souvenirs.

Typically paintings on peepal leaves and on pith would depict attractive local subjects such as customs, costumes and trades, and indigenous flora and fauna. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.

Please note that the leaf is loose and not mounted onto any backing.