Watercolours

Oblong folio (238 x 367mm.), 100 WATERCOLOUR DRAWINGS on native paper, mounted, showing genre scenes, professions, captioned in Chinese, and, later, in French, nineteenth-century French three-quarter crushed morocco, spine lettered “La rue à Pékin”, gilt edges, a few short tears

All Under Heaven 29

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A LARGE GROUP OF FINE DRAWINGS, depicting trades, punishments, and other occupations, including labourers, priests, monks, students, an opium smoker and so on. Different varieties of transport are depicted including thirteen different types of cart, a palanquin and a sled.

“The spine of the folio records a year for the book: 1890. The paintings it encloses, however, are not otherwise explicitly dated and may be older by several decades. They are examples of a type of painting that Chinese artisans produced… for European traders in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although the folio’s French title claims that the images depict life on the streets of the capital, Peking (Beijing), the painters who created the works were probably most familiar with Canton (Guangzhou), the southern city to which the Qing government restricted Chinese trade with the West from 1760 until the conclusion of the First Opium War in 1843” (All Under Heaven).