{"title":"Acquerelli cinesi, dipinti a midollo e erbario: Minnie Wight 1858","description":"\u003cp\u003e Questa splendida collezione di opere cinesi è stata conservata in un album di metà Ottocento appartenuto a una certa Minnie Wight di Newhaven. Si sa poco di Minnie Wright, ma era evidentemente inglese e il suo indirizzo è \"Newhaven\" nel 1858. Le annotazioni che accompagnano la collezione indicano che suo nipote si chiamava Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProbabilmente era legata alla comunità britannica residente in Cina, nei pressi dei principali porti commerciali del Delta dello Yangtze, dopo il Trattato di Nanchino del 1842. Oltre a splendidi esempi di dipinti cinesi su acquerelli a midolla e floreali, la collezione include un acquerello raffigurante un maestro di scuola cinese, con la scritta \"Morton invia a Minnie\", e numerosi esemplari d'erbario raccolti in località intorno al \"Grande Canale\" e a Hangzhou, capolinea meridionale del Canale, tra il 1859 e il 1862. Sono presenti anche due esemplari raccolti a \"Hogg Farm, Inghilterra\" nel 1863. Nel complesso, la collezione è un'affascinante testimonianza della storia, delle attività e degli scambi socio-culturali avvenuti tra Cina e Occidente nel XIX secolo.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"chinese-herbarium-pressed-wildflower-specimen-c-1859-ka-201","title":"Esemplare di fiori selvatici pressati da erbario cinese – c. 1859","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un originale foglio pressato di fiori selvatici dell'erbario cinese del 1859 circa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Questo insolito esemplare vegetale fu raccolto in Cina a metà del XIX secolo e conservato in un album appartenuto a una certa Minnie Wight di Newhaven. Si sa poco di Minnie Wright, ma era evidentemente inglese e il suo indirizzo era \"Newhaven\" nel 1858. Le annotazioni che accompagnano la collezione indicano che suo nipote si chiamava Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI suoi campioni d'erbario risalgono al periodo compreso tra il 1859 e il 1862 e furono raccolti in località intorno al \"Grande Canale\" e a Hangzhou, il capolinea meridionale del Canal Grande. Ci sono anche due campioni raccolti a \"Hogg Farm, Inghilterra\" nel 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Sebbene campioni vegetali provenienti dalla Cina di questo periodo siano ancora esistenti come parte di collezioni compilate da botanici itineranti, questi rari esemplari furono apparentemente raccolti da o per una giovane donna, per la quale la raccolta di piante essiccate era un passatempo e un metodo di apprendimento. Probabilmente era legata alla comunità britannica che viveva in Cina attorno ai principali porti commerciali del Delta dello Yangtze dopo il Trattato di Nanchino del 1842.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e L'esemplare è fissato su carta azzurra con filo di cotone color crema. Si prega di notare le piccole dimensioni di quest'opera.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52020362019145,"sku":"KA-201","price":21.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/ka-201.jpg?v=1743514135"},{"product_id":"chinese-herbarium-pressed-cotton-leaf-flower-specimen-1862-ka-202","title":"Esemplare di foglie e fiori di cotone pressato dell'erbario cinese 1862","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un originale erbario cinese del 1862 con foglie e fiori di cotone pressati.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuesto insolito esemplare vegetale fu raccolto in Cina a metà del XIX secolo e conservato in un album appartenuto a una certa Minnie Wight di Newhaven. Si sa poco di Minnie Wright, ma era evidentemente inglese e il suo indirizzo era \"Newhaven\" nel 1858. Le annotazioni che accompagnano la collezione indicano che suo nipote si chiamava Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e I suoi campioni d'erbario risalgono al periodo compreso tra il 1859 e il 1862 e furono raccolti in località intorno al \"Grande Canale\" e a Hangzhou, il capolinea meridionale del Canal Grande. Ci sono anche due campioni raccolti a \"Hogg Farm, Inghilterra\" nel 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Sebbene campioni vegetali provenienti dalla Cina di questo periodo siano ancora esistenti come parte di collezioni compilate da botanici itineranti, questi rari esemplari furono apparentemente raccolti da o per una giovane donna, per la quale la raccolta di piante essiccate era un passatempo e un metodo di apprendimento. Probabilmente era legata alla comunità britannica che viveva in Cina attorno ai principali porti commerciali del Delta dello Yangtze dopo il Trattato di Nanchino del 1842.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eL'esemplare è fissato su carta vergata con filo di cotone color crema. Si prega di notare le piccole dimensioni di quest'opera.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52020362084681,"sku":"KA-202","price":19.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/ka-202.jpg?v=1743514136"},{"product_id":"chinese-herbarium-pressed-flowers-from-kau-shing-qiaosizhen-hangzhou-1859-ka-205","title":"Foglie pressate dell'erbario cinese di Kau Shing (Qiaosizhen, Hangzhou?) 1859","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un originale erbario cinese in foglie pressate del 1859 proveniente da Kau Shing (Qiaosizhen, Hangzhou?).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Questo insolito foglio di esemplari vegetali fu raccolto in Cina a metà del XIX secolo e conservato in un album appartenuto a una certa Minnie Wight di Newhaven. Si sa poco di Minnie Wright, ma era evidentemente inglese e il suo indirizzo era \"Newhaven\" nel 1858. Le annotazioni che accompagnano la collezione indicano che suo nipote si chiamava Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e I suoi campioni d'erbario risalgono al periodo compreso tra il 1859 e il 1862 e furono raccolti in località intorno al \"Grande Canale\" e a Hangzhou, il capolinea meridionale del Canal Grande. Ci sono anche due campioni raccolti a \"Hogg Farm, Inghilterra\" nel 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSebbene campioni vegetali cinesi risalenti a questo periodo siano ancora esistenti come parte di collezioni compilate da botanici itineranti, questi rari esemplari furono apparentemente raccolti da o per una giovane donna, per la quale la raccolta di piante essiccate era un passatempo e un metodo di apprendimento. Probabilmente era legata alla comunità britannica che viveva in Cina attorno ai principali porti commerciali del Delta dello Yangtze dopo il Trattato di Nanchino del 1842.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Gli esemplari sono fissati su carta sottile con filo di cotone color crema. Sono adagiati su carta di supporto con timbro a secco in basso a destra.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52020363034953,"sku":"KA-205","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/ka-205.jpg?v=1743514140"},{"product_id":"chinese-herbarium-pressed-flowers-from-kau-shing-qiaosizhen-hangzhou-1859-ka-209","title":"Fiori pressati dall'erbario cinese di Kau Shing (Qiaosizhen, Hangzhou?) 1859","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un originale erbario cinese di fiori selvatici pressati in foglie pressate del 1859 proveniente dalla Joss House a Kau Shing (Qiaosizhen, Hangzhou?).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuesto insolito foglio di esemplari vegetali fu raccolto in Cina a metà del XIX secolo e conservato in un album appartenuto a una certa Minnie Wight di Newhaven. Si sa poco di Minnie Wright, ma era evidentemente inglese e il suo indirizzo era \"Newhaven\" nel 1858. Le annotazioni che accompagnano la collezione indicano che suo nipote si chiamava Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e I suoi campioni d'erbario risalgono al periodo compreso tra il 1859 e il 1862 e furono raccolti in località intorno al \"Grande Canale\" e a Hangzhou, il capolinea meridionale del Canal Grande. Ci sono anche due campioni raccolti a \"Hogg Farm, Inghilterra\" nel 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Sebbene campioni vegetali cinesi risalenti a questo periodo siano ancora esistenti come parte di collezioni compilate da botanici itineranti, questi rari esemplari furono apparentemente raccolti da o per una giovane donna, per la quale la raccolta di piante essiccate era un passatempo e un metodo di apprendimento. Probabilmente era legata alla comunità britannica che viveva in Cina attorno ai principali porti commerciali del Delta dello Yangtze dopo il Trattato di Nanchino del 1842.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGli esemplari sono fissati su carta per buste vergata Waterlow \u0026amp; Sons con filigrana, utilizzando filo di cotone color crema. Timbro a secco in alto al centro. Fornito con carta di supporto separata.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52020363067721,"sku":"KA-209","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/ka-209.jpg?v=1743514140"},{"product_id":"chinese-flowers-fruit-original-mid-c19th-qing-dynasty-watercolour-painting-kb-202","title":"Fiori e frutta cinesi – Acquerello originale della dinastia Qing, metà del XIX secolo","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un acquerello originale della metà del XIX secolo, raffigurante fiori e frutta cinesi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Un bellissimo acquerello cinese in miniatura risalente alla metà del XIX secolo. Fa parte di una serie di otto pezzi in vendita, raffiguranti fiori, frutta e insetti autoctoni (disponibili separatamente, vedi codici KB-202-KB-209). Altamente decorativi, i dipinti sarebbero splendidi se esposti insieme.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcquerello con tocchi di bianco. Su carta cinese sottile applicata su supporto in carta velina color crema. Si prega di notare le piccole dimensioni di quest'opera.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52021403582793,"sku":"KB-202","price":72.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KB-202_12f7431a-96ac-4c74-a494-511b788c226f.jpg?v=1780484586"},{"product_id":"chinese-hydrangea-flower-original-mid-c19th-qing-dynasty-watercolour-painting-kb-206","title":"Fiore di ortensia cinese – Dipinto ad acquerello originale della dinastia Qing, metà del XIX secolo","description":"\u003cp\u003e Dipinto originale ad acquerello della metà del XIX secolo, raffigurante un fiore di ortensia cinese.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUn bellissimo acquerello cinese in miniatura risalente alla metà del XIX secolo. Fa parte di una serie di otto pezzi in vendita, raffiguranti fiori, frutta e insetti autoctoni (disponibili separatamente, vedi codici KB-202-KB-209). Altamente decorativi, i dipinti sarebbero splendidi se esposti insieme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Su carta cinese sottile applicata su supporto in carta velina color crema. Si prega di notare le piccole dimensioni di quest'opera.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52021404303689,"sku":"KB-206","price":72.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KB-206_0155e781-04c0-4a28-b1de-e46c22da5dad.jpg?v=1780484412"},{"product_id":"chinese-magnolia-flowers-original-mid-c19th-qing-dynasty-watercolour-painting-kb-208","title":"Fiori di magnolia cinese – Dipinto ad acquerello originale della dinastia Qing della metà del XIX secolo","description":"\u003cp\u003e Un acquerello originale della metà del XIX secolo raffigurante fiori di magnolia cinesi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Un bellissimo acquerello cinese in miniatura risalente alla metà del XIX secolo. Fa parte di una serie di otto pezzi in vendita, raffiguranti fiori, frutta e insetti autoctoni (disponibili separatamente, vedi codici KB-202-KB-209). Altamente decorativi, i dipinti sarebbero splendidi se esposti insieme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e Su carta cinese sottile applicata su supporto in carta velina color crema. Si prega di notare le piccole dimensioni di quest'opera.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52021404336457,"sku":"KB-208","price":54.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KB-208_cb0d7d32-5422-4895-833c-f09a98523739.jpg?v=1780484528"},{"product_id":"anon-herbarium-pressed-wildflowers-hogg-farm-england-original-1863-mixed-media-kd-589","title":"Anon., Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers, Hogg Farm, England – 1863","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original 1863 mixed media – Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers, Hogg Farm, England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis sheet of plant specimens were collected at 'Hogg Farm' the mid-19th century and preserved in an album belonging to a Minnie Wight of Newhaven. Little is known about Minnie Wright, but she was evidently English and her address is 'Newhaven' in 1858. Annotations accompanying the collection indicate that her grandson was called Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer herbarium specimens date from between 1859 and 1862 and were collected at locations around the 'Great Canal' and Hangzhou, the southern terminus of the Grand Canal. There are also two specimens collected at 'Hogg Farm, England' in 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhilst extant plant samples from China during this period exist as part of collections compiled by travelling botanists, these rare examples were apparently collected by or for a young female, for whom the collecting of dried plants was a pastime and method of learning. She was likely connected to the British community living in China around the main trade ports of the Yangtze Delta after the 1842 Treaty of Nanking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pale blue paper laid down on backing paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541771080009,"sku":"KD-589","price":28.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-589.jpg?v=1780569815"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-orange-lily-flower-with-beetle-insect-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-577","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Orange Lily Flower with Beetle Insect – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Orange Lily Flower with Beetle Insect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541774324041,"sku":"KD-577","price":36.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-577.jpg?v=1780569882"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-quince-fruit-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-572","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Quince Fruit – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Quince Fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541776322889,"sku":"KD-572","price":38.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-572.jpg?v=1780569922"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-pink-rose-flower-with-butterfly-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-576","title":"Chinese School, Pink Rose Flower with Butterfly – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Pink Rose Flower with Butterfly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541776585033,"sku":"KD-576","price":38.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-576.jpg?v=1780569934"},{"product_id":"anon-chinese-herbarium-pressed-wildflowers-from-the-grand-canal-original-1859-mixed-media-kd-586","title":"Anon., Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers from the Grand Canal – 1859","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original 1859 mixed media – Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers from the Grand Canal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis unusual sheet of plant specimens were collected in China in the mid-19th century and preserved in an album belonging to a Minnie Wight of Newhaven. Little is known about Minnie Wright, but she was evidently English and her address is 'Newhaven' in 1858. Annotations accompanying the collection indicate that her grandson was called Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer herbarium specimens date from between 1859 and 1862 and were collected at locations around the 'Great Canal' and Hangzhou, the southern terminus of the Grand Canal. There are also two specimens collected at 'Hogg Farm, England' in 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhilst extant plant samples from China during this period exist as part of collections compiled by travelling botanists, these rare examples were apparently collected by or for a young female, for whom the collecting of dried plants was a pastime and method of learning. She was likely connected to the British community living in China around the main trade ports of the Yangtze Delta after the 1842 Treaty of Nanking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn watermarked laid paper with blindstamp upper centre.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541777371465,"sku":"KD-586","price":38.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-586.jpg?v=1780569944"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-persimmon-fruit-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-569","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Persimmon Fruit – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Persimmon Fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541791756617,"sku":"KD-569","price":52.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-569.jpg?v=1780570114"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-carrot-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-570","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Carrot – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Carrot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541791953225,"sku":"KD-570","price":52.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-570.jpg?v=1780570126"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-loquat-fruit-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-571","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Loquat Fruit – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Loquat Fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541792870729,"sku":"KD-571","price":52.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-571.jpg?v=1780570138"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-pomelo-fruit-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-573","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Pomelo Fruit – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Pomelo Fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541793329481,"sku":"KD-573","price":52.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-573.jpg?v=1780570150"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-lotus-root-plant-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-575","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Lotus Root Plant – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Lotus Root Plant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541794312521,"sku":"KD-575","price":52.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-575.jpg?v=1780570163"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-rice-field-workers-original-mid-19th-century-watercolour-painting-kd-582","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Rice Field Workers – Mid-19th-century watercolour painting","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century watercolour painting – Chinese School, Chinese Rice Field Workers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful miniature Chinese watercolour painting dating from the mid-19th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn paper laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541796475209,"sku":"KD-582","price":64.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-582.jpg?v=1780570229"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-fisherman-with-lift-net-original-mid-19th-century-watercolour-painting-kd-583","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Fisherman with Lift Net – Mid-19th-century watercolour painting","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century watercolour painting – Chinese School, Chinese Fisherman with Lift Net.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful miniature Chinese watercolour painting dating from the mid-19th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn paper laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541796966729,"sku":"KD-583","price":64.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-583.jpg?v=1780570240"},{"product_id":"anon-chinese-herbarium-pressed-wildflowers-original-c-1859-mixed-media-kd-587","title":"Anon., Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers – c.1859","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original c.1859 mixed media – Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis unusual sheet of plant specimens were collected in China in the mid-19th century and preserved in an album belonging to a Minnie Wight of Newhaven. Little is known about Minnie Wright, but she was evidently English and her address is 'Newhaven' in 1858. Annotations accompanying the collection indicate that her grandson was called Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer herbarium specimens date from between 1859 and 1862 and were collected at locations around the 'Great Canal' and Hangzhou, the southern terminus of the Grand Canal. There are also two specimens collected at 'Hogg Farm, England' in 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhilst extant plant samples from China during this period exist as part of collections compiled by travelling botanists, these rare examples were apparently collected by or for a young female, for whom the collecting of dried plants was a pastime and method of learning. She was likely connected to the British community living in China around the main trade ports of the Yangtze Delta after the 1842 Treaty of Nanking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn thin paper laid down on backing paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541797228873,"sku":"KD-587","price":68.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-587.jpg?v=1780570249"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-mandarin-orange-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-574","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Mandarin Orange – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Mandarin Orange.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541798244681,"sku":"KD-574","price":78.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-574.jpg?v=1780570269"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-grouper-fish-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-580","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Grouper Fish – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Grouper Fish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541798965577,"sku":"KD-580","price":98.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-580.jpg?v=1780570298"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-chinese-silver-carp-fish-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-581","title":"Chinese School, Chinese Silver Carp Fish – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Chinese Silver Carp Fish.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in iridescent paint on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541799424329,"sku":"KD-581","price":98.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-581.jpg?v=1780570310"},{"product_id":"anon-chinese-herbarium-pressed-wildflowers-from-the-grand-canal-original-1859-mixed-media-kd-588","title":"Anon., Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers from the Grand Canal – 1859","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original 1859 mixed media – Chinese Herbarium Pressed Wildflowers from the Grand Canal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis unusual sheet of plant specimens were collected in China in the mid-19th century and preserved in an album belonging to a Minnie Wight of Newhaven. Little is known about Minnie Wright, but she was evidently English and her address is 'Newhaven' in 1858. Annotations accompanying the collection indicate that her grandson was called Philip Orford.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer herbarium specimens date from between 1859 and 1862 and were collected at locations around the 'Great Canal' and Hangzhou, the southern terminus of the Grand Canal. There are also two specimens collected at 'Hogg Farm, England' in 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhilst extant plant samples from China during this period exist as part of collections compiled by travelling botanists, these rare examples were apparently collected by or for a young female, for whom the collecting of dried plants was a pastime and method of learning. She was likely connected to the British community living in China around the main trade ports of the Yangtze Delta after the 1842 Treaty of Nanking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn Waterlow and Sons watermarked laid envelope paper with blindstamp upper centre laid down on backing paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541800407369,"sku":"KD-588","price":98.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-588.jpg?v=1780570319"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-yellow-crested-cockatoo-bird-on-pine-branch-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-578","title":"Chinese School, Yellow-crested Cockatoo Bird on Pine Branch – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Yellow-crested Cockatoo Bird on Pine Branch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541800866121,"sku":"KD-578","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-578.jpg?v=1780570339"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-cabots-tragopan-pheasant-bird-on-flowering-branch-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-579","title":"Chinese School, Cabot's Tragopan Pheasant Bird on Flowering Branch – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Cabot's Tragopan Pheasant Bird on Flowering Branch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful small Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541801587017,"sku":"KD-579","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-579.jpg?v=1780570350"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-prisoner-his-captors-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-584","title":"Chinese School, Prisoner \u0026 His Captors – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Prisoner \u0026amp; His Captors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn interesting Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541805420873,"sku":"KD-584","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-584.jpg?v=1780570362"},{"product_id":"chinese-school-lily-flowers-with-butterfly-original-mid-19th-century-chinese-painting-on-pith-kd-585","title":"Chinese School, Lily Flowers with Butterfly – Mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original mid-19th-century chinese painting on pith – Chinese School, Lily Flowers with Butterfly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA beautiful Chinese painting in watercolour on pith.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDelicate pith paintings by local Chinese artists were collected by Western travellers and merchants from around 1825 onwards. 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 on pith were produced in port cities to meet the Western demand for local Chinese souvenirs. Relatively inexpensive and conveniently portable, they were often glued into albums to provide protection on the long voyage home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTypically the paintings would depict attractive local subjects such as cultivated flora, indigenous birds and insects, and local trades, customs and costumes. The painting style would combine a traditional Chinese approach of flattened sweeps of colour with aspects of Western influence in detail and realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith paper behaves very differently from conventional rag or woodpulp paper. Rather than being plant fibres matted together into a layer, pith is composed of plant cells sliced directly from the inner tissue of the Tetrapanex papyrifera plant, native to Southern China and Taiwan. This unique composition makes it extremely vulnerable to damage by moisture and other environmental factors, becoming very brittle over time and subject to distinctive cracking. It is rare, therefore, that such paintings survive in pristine condition. Being routinely tipped onto album pages, they also often bear glue marks and related discolouration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePith also behaves unlike conventional paper as a painting support. Watercolour and gouache paint readily absorb into the plant cells of the pith to create a rich, velvety depth of colour, and then paint pools in relief on the surface, producing exquisitely vibrant raised details, of sparkling, jewel-like intensity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn pith laid down on backing paper. There is an additional pith painting on the verso.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54541807649097,"sku":"KD-585","price":128.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-585.jpg?v=1780570390"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/collections\/AA22-KA-209.jpg?v=1742301396","url":"https:\/\/somersetandwood.com\/it-eu\/collections\/chinese-watercolours-pith-paintings-and-herbarium-minnie-wright-1858.oembed","provider":"Somerset \u0026 Wood Fine Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}