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Details
Chinese School(?), early-19th century
An album containing original watercolour drawings of exotic insects. [no place, no date but watermarked 'J. Whatman 1827'].4° (269 x 210mm). 23 leaves, each with an original pen, ink and watercolour drawing (occasionally heightened with gum arabic or gilt paint) of up between 1 and 7 different species, annotated in ink by a single contemporary hand. Contemporary sheep, gilt edges (remnants of spine and upper cover only).
A fine selection showing 54 different species of exotic insects. The collection includes 8 leaves of drawings of 24 species of beetle or 'Coleoptera'; 11 leaves of 22 species of locusts, crickets, mantis or 'Hemiptera' and 4 leaves of 8 species of butterflies or 'Lepidoptera'. The origin of the drawings is difficult to pinpoint: the style is similar to that employed by the Anglo-Chinese artists working for the East India Company and their like during the first three to four decades of the nineteenth century. Two of the drawings include identified plant species, both of which are native to China. However, there is at least one insect species which is found outside China ('Gryllus morbillosus' is native to South Africa) and the style of the drawings is not distinctive enough to say with certainty that they are from a Chinese hand. (23)
An album containing original watercolour drawings of exotic insects. [no place, no date but watermarked 'J. Whatman 1827'].4° (269 x 210mm). 23 leaves, each with an original pen, ink and watercolour drawing (occasionally heightened with gum arabic or gilt paint) of up between 1 and 7 different species, annotated in ink by a single contemporary hand. Contemporary sheep, gilt edges (remnants of spine and upper cover only).
A fine selection showing 54 different species of exotic insects. The collection includes 8 leaves of drawings of 24 species of beetle or 'Coleoptera'; 11 leaves of 22 species of locusts, crickets, mantis or 'Hemiptera' and 4 leaves of 8 species of butterflies or 'Lepidoptera'. The origin of the drawings is difficult to pinpoint: the style is similar to that employed by the Anglo-Chinese artists working for the East India Company and their like during the first three to four decades of the nineteenth century. Two of the drawings include identified plant species, both of which are native to China. However, there is at least one insect species which is found outside China ('Gryllus morbillosus' is native to South Africa) and the style of the drawings is not distinctive enough to say with certainty that they are from a Chinese hand. (23)
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