The Ten Bamboo Studio Collection of Calligraphy and Pictures, Qing dynasty.
For condition report contact specialist
First published in 1633 by Hu Zhengyan (1584-1674). Woodblock print, ink and colour on papers. Eight volumes bound together in a fabric clad box. Size of the protective blue box-wrapper 18.5x7x27 cm.
Sold as is.
Provenance
Private Collection, Sweden
Hu, a noted publisher, calligrapher, and seal-carver, named the book after his Ten Bamboo Studio in Nanjing, where he and his friends would gather. The book is understood to be among the earliest existing examples of color woodblock printing in China, produced as a work of art but also as a manual to demonstrate painting techniques and different ways of presenting elements in nature.
The prints featured in the book include elements typically associated with Chinese gardens: orchid, bamboo, flowering plum, fruits, sculptural rocks, birds and flowers, and calligraphy, among others. They look stunningly like paintings because of the innovative techniques used in printing multiple colors. Very rare in early Chinese editions.
Literature
The book is represented in various museums, usually in later editions, to mention some: The British Museum, inventory number 1930,1015,0.6.
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. Park Palmer. Inventory no 1976/65.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.