AFA Summer 2018

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 127 frequently utilized as a base in the earlier decades of the 1700s, but few such watercolors exist today. By the 1780s, drawings were commonly produced on imported European papers, especially high-quality ones like those of English manufacturer J. Whatman, either sold individually or bound in albums for easier transport. Growing demand in the early nineteenth century caused a decrease in size and quality. Paper made from the pith of a native Southern Chinese plant, mistakenly referred to as rice paper by Westerners, was often used for smaller drawings; sheet edges were adhered to a secondary support with silk and paper strips. Several pages were then bound together between thin boards covered with colored, patterned fabrics. Cracks now seen in pith paper caused by humidity changes attest to its inherent fragility. A transition from more delicate colors to primary ones also happened close to this time. The demand for export watercolors declined toward the end of the nineteenth century as the China trade waned and photography became widespread. Despite their romanticized nature, these watercolors are a stunning visual record of a bygone era. Jeanne Solensky is a librarian and the interim head of the Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera and the Winterthur Archives, Winterthur Library. 1. These versatile artists also created paintings in oil, on ivory, and on glass for the export market. 2. The Winterthur Museum has two sets of watercolors showing the manufacturing of porcelain (1956.0038.106-.128 and 2003 .0047.014.001-.010 ). 3. An artist’s name found on a drawing or a trade label inside an album usually denotes a studio owner. Fig. 2: Domestic interior showing women playing the board game weiqi, ca. 1800. Watercolor on paper, 14¼ x 19⅛ inches (Collection 111, 91x75.82). Fig. 3: Botanical drawing with butterflies and insect. Watercolor on paper with pre-1794 J. Whatman watermark, 14¾ H x 19½ inches (Collection 111, 91x75.9).