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    Sale 2188

    THE IMPERIAL SALE

    Hong Kong

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    30 May 2005

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    • A RARE COMPLETE SET OF 'COTTON
    Lot 1221

    A RARE COMPLETE SET OF 'COTTON CULTIVATION AND PRODUCTION' PRINTS

    Price realised

    HKD 168,000

    Estimate

    HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000

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    A RARE COMPLETE SET OF 'COTTON CULTIVATION AND PRODUCTION' PRINTS
    QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

    Comprising a total of sixteen square images illustrating figures in varying scenes of the cultivation, spinning, weaving and dyeing of cotton, all mounted onto eight hanging scrolls, each hanging scroll is mounted with two illustrations above and below texts describing the scenes' activities, further inscribed with poems written by Emperor Qianlong and the court official, Fang Guancheng, the prints executed in indigo-blue ink on paper, dated to the thirtieth year of the Qianlong reign, corresponding to 1765
    10 x 8 3/4 in. (25.4 x 22.2 cm.) each panel (8)

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    Lot Essay

    The present set of prints originated from the same genre as the Gengzhi Tuxu, 'Scenes of Ploughing and Weaving' that were made into woodblock prints in the 28th year of Kangxi's reign as part of the didactics in educating princes and officials on the importance of sericulture and farming. According to the inscription, the present set of prints was produced by the court official, Fang Guancheng (1698-1768) who was the Governor of Zhili. In all, the scenes are interspersed with seven poems written by Qianlong and the same number by Fang Guancheng.

    A set of similar prints is in the National Palace Museum, where a selected scene is illustrated together with an exact painting from an album leaf executed with ink and colour on paper, cf., Blossoming Through the Ages: Women in Chinese Art and Culture from the Museum Collection, Taiwan, 2003, p. 133.

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