Volume three of five brocade-bound sets of 60 Chinese watercolor paintings. The watercolors show, in chronological order, the process of producing Ramie cloth, a silk-like fabric, in China during the 1820s. The collection is accompanied by a transcription of hand-written text, describing the steps in Ramie cloth production. These works are part of a long lineage of works by Chinese artists that depict the various processes in the production of materials from China.
These elaborate paintings were made on pith paper supports, a paper-like product made from the pith of a small tree. Pith was a popular painting support of Chinese export paintings as it was a sumptuous but inexpensive form of locally made paper, an alternative to pricier imported European paper. The pith paper paintings are secured onto the album pages with thin, blue silk tapes.
Studio of Sunqua. The Story of Ramie From Seed to Finished Garment Book 3. Pith paper, watercolor (paint), circa 1820–1870. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/xbyswt0.
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