19thC Antique Chinese Export Rice Paper Pith Painting(8 1/2" x 10 3/4")

19thC Antique Chinese Rice Paper Pith Painting.

Pith paintings

While travelling in China during the first half of the 19th century it became common for Europeans to collect small, attractive watercolour paintings by local artists. These ‘export paintings’ usually depicted scenes of everyday life in China as well as decorative images of birds, insects and flowers. They were often treated as souvenirs, bound in albums and taken back to Europe. The paintings are very striking in their vibrant colours and translucency, which is due to the support on which they are painted. Instead of being made from plant fibres matted together, as with traditional paper, the soft white support is a thin slice of the stem of the Tetrapanax papyrifer plant. The velvet-like texture of the pith ‘paper’ lends itself well to the application of watercolours, and its ability to absorb water to alter the surface characteristics means the paint layer is raised, creating an attractive embossed surface.