Sericulture

Depictions of tilling and weaving have been popular subjects in classical Chinese painting since at least the Southern Song dynasty, when the first recorded series of these images was produced by the scholar official Lou Shou (1090-1162). Images of rice and silk production represented an idealised industriousness of the common people, and came to be associated with times of peace and prosperity. In the early Qing dynasty the reigning Kangxi Emperor instructed court painter Jiao Bingzhen to paint a series of 46 scenes on this subject, 23 of tilling and 23 of weaving. Jiao's paintings were then reproduced as woodblock prints and distributed throughout the empire. The album in the present lot appears to have been made as a close copy from Jiao's woodblock prints. It contains the first twelve scenes from the weaving series, encompassing the whole process of silk worm rearing. The facing pages of calligraphy reproduce the text of the Kangxi Emperor's poems, inscribed on Jiao Bingzhen's original paintings. These verses are followed by explanatory notes, with the seal of the otherwise unknown Instructress Yu Dong.
This album was part of the estate of Mr Che-Fu Tang (d. 1978). According to Ms. Mary E. Stewart, Notary Public of Plymouth SS, Massachusetts, Mr Tang was the former Viceroy of Fukien [Fujian], China. Ms Stewart notarised the sale from this estate on 18 December 1978, and the sale was authorised by the executor Mr Thomas H Tang of Montclair, New Jersey. The original, watermarked document detailing the above is included alongside the album as part of this lot.