Mid 19th Century Chinese Nautical Pith Rice Paper Watercolor, Framed

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19th Century Chinese Nautical Painting on Pith Rice Paper

Pith Paintings, also known as Tong Cao Hue are thin sheets … Read more 19th Century Chinese Nautical Painting on Pith Rice Paper

Pith Paintings, also known as Tong Cao Hue are thin sheets of pith from the tetrapanax rice paper plant. They are extremely fragile and become bitter with age and easily tear over time.

Due to the texture of the pith paper and how they absorb pigment, the vibrant colors of these intricate works do not fade over time and remain colorful and saturated as they age

These paintings are historically important due to the glimpses they give us to their day to day lives in Mid 19th Century China. They often depict the everyday lives of Merchants, Flower Sellers, Musicians, Fisherman as well as the elaborate costumes of the Royal Court and High Ranking officials.

In perfect condition with no rips or deterioration these works can fetch for several hundreds of dollars or more per work!

As you can see this particular painting does have some foxing and a some rips in the pith and unfortunately is quite common on these types of works but it's still a stunning piece of history. See less