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Album of 70 Asian fruit paintings

 
HOLLIS Number
Publication
[Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified], [between 1800 and 1899?]

Description

Digital Facsimile

1 album (84 unnumbered leaves of plates)

Devised title.

Date unknown, but assumed to be 19th century.

The presence of Malay, Dutch, and Portuguese words in addition to the Chinese fruit names suggests that these watercolors may have been painted in Malaysia, Sumatra, or elsewhere in Southeast Asia where these various cultures intermixed during the period of European colonization of the East Indies.

Seventy watercolor paintings of Asian fruits, most of which are labeled with the fruit's name in Chinese and sometimes another language. The artist is not identified.

Interspersed in the final 10 leaves of the album are various drawings, mostly pencil sketches of landscapes or figures. Some of the drawings are drawn directly on the album leaves while others are glued into the album.

Album is bound in quarter-leather, with initials "L.A.S." embossed in gold on the cover, decorative gilt tooling on front, back, and spine, all edges gilt, with top portion of broken metal clasp catch attached to front board at foreedge.

 

Language

Dutch, Chinese, Latin, Malayalam, Portuguese, Spanish
 

Subject

Fruit -- Southeast Asia -- Pictorial works.; Fruit -- Southeast Asia -- Identification -- Pictorial works.; Fruit -- Asia -- Pictorial works.; Fruit -- Asia -- Identification -- Pictorial works.; Botanical illustration.; Watercolor paintings -- 19th century.