Hanshan Tang Books

ZZMA01
MIAO ALBUM. 苗圖. N.p., n.d. (c.1800). 41 full page original colour paintings. 36x24 cm. Concertina style folding album. Wooden boards.
GBP 12,000.00
A well-painted 'Miao' album of good size showing 41 full page representations of minority peoples in China, usually those living in southern Guizhou province, where the Miao people are a prevalent minority, their name being adopted as a general title for this type of work. These works first appeared in the 18th century when the Qing were seeking to consolidate their control of the border regions of southern China and were first used, it seems, as an educational tool for officials. Such works subsequently became high-class souvenirs of visits to the area with the quality of albums deteriorating, particularly those produced as the 19th century progressed. It can generally be said that the better the quality, the earlier the album. This album is well-done, not the best we have handled (a superb example which was mid-18th century), but which has helped us to give a probable dating of 1800 for this example. The 41 original paintings seek to give a broad impression of the variety of peoples who inhabit the area. It is a simple and pure example of the genre focussing purely on the depiction of a minority person with no background or landscape and no associated texts. Thus a distinctive variation on the normal layout of such works.
The paintings are well executed with a good amount of delicate detail to the garments, in particular, the decorative borders of the clothing which includes some gilt highlighting. This is one of the features that leads us to ascribe an earlier date to this work as, in later poorer versions, such detail was minimal and crudely done.
Each image with a brief title in Chinese. A separate document is included which gives list of titles in Chinese with pinyin and (attempted) English translations (where applicable).
The album in honest original condition Abraded blank red title slip on the wooden covers which show good grain. The album is about to detach at one fold but this can be easily repaired. Some light surface soiling and a little offsetting of paint on a couple of pages. The work would benefit from gentle cleaning and conservation. In our view, a very good and somewhat different example of the genre. Rare.
Images available on request.
Subjects: Painting Minorities
Item 562 in List 205.
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