Two Chinese Botanical Watercolors
| Lot #: 314 Two Chinese Botanical Watercolors |
| Win Achun and other artists. Originally bound these exquisite watercolors were according to an early auction catalog clipping, “executed expressly for the Late J. Roberts, Esq. (director and chairman of the East India Company) and are sold by order of his executors. It would be difficult to convey an adequate idea of the taste, beauty and spirit with which the drawings are executed, and I am assured by a very competent judge who was in China, when the drawings were made, that their fidelity is equal to their beauty. All the botanical drawings were submitted by the artist to the inspection and received the approbation of Mr. Kerr, the botanist, who was sent from Kev to China by his Britannic Majesty.” The subjects are presented as botanical specimens according to Western ideas. A sprig of foliage is shown where possible with a bud, a flower and immature and mature fruits or seed heads, with examples of both fruit and flowers dissected below. The artists illustrate botanical accuracy while retaining that fine Chinese tradition of design and delicacy, which almost brings the plants to life. |
| Both 17 1/2"x 13" |
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Provenance John Roberts (director of the East India Company, catalogue entry from an early auction catalog); Wentworth Henry Canning, 2nd Viscount Allendale. The Peter Tillou Collection, Litchfield, Connecticut. |
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Auction Date Sep 28, 2019 |
| Estimate: $2,000-$4,000 |
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