Lot Essay
Youqua was an export painter who was active from the 1840s to the 1880s and who set up workshops in Canton and Hong Kong under the name 'Yeehing'. See G. Clunas, Chinese Export Watercolours, 1984. For further discussion on pith paper (derived from the pith of Tetrapanax papyrifera) paintings, see C. L. Crossmann, The Decorative Arts of the China Trade, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1991, pp.200-202, and colour plate 70 and pls. 105 and 106 for examples of Youqua's pith paper work and label.