Chinese album of ten paintings on Tetrapanax papyrifer pith – Punqua workshop, Canton, circa 1840

Dimensions: 33.4 × 24.5 cm
Technique: Gouache on the pith of Tetrapanax papyrifer
Binding: Brocaded silk with polychrome hexagonal patterns
Workshop : Pounkoua , Guangzhou (Guangzhou), China
Period: Circa 1840

This elegant 19th-century Chinese album contains ten remarkably delicate paintings, executed in gouache on Tetrapanax papyrifera pith, often called “rice paper.” This translucent support, obtained by unrolling the pith of a tropical plant native to Taiwan, gives these compositions a silky sheen and a unique luminosity.

Each print depicts a bouquet of flowers accompanied by delicately rendered butterflies and insects, in the naturalistic style of Canton workshops producing works for export to Europe. The precise outlines, vibrant pigments, and delicate washes demonstrate mastery of the gongbi (工筆) style, a traditional Chinese technique of fine, meticulous line, characterized by extreme precision of drawing and the layering of transparent washes of color.

During this period, gongbi painting underwent a transformation: while retaining the rigor inherited from the literati painters, the workshops of Canton adopted certain Western pictorial conventions introduced by missionaries—effects of light, modeling, and subtle shading. The result was a hybrid style, a poetic naturalism, where the Chinese tradition of refinement met the European curiosity for botany and color.

The blue brocaded silk cover, decorated with stylized floral motifs, is original. The last page bears the red seal of the Punqua workshop , one of the most renowned in Canton alongside Tingqua and Sunqua . These workshops produced export albums for Western travelers and merchants, illustrating the flora, costumes, and trades of Imperial China.

Comparable works are held in the collections of the Louvre Museum , the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
This complete example, with its remarkable chromatic freshness, constitutes a rare testimony to the encounter between Chinese art and the European gaze in the 19th century.