Anna Beatriz Chadour Rings: The Alice and Louis Koch Collection. Forty Centuries seen by Four Generations.
Leeds, W.S. Maney and Son, 1994, Limited, Folio, Cloth & Slipcase, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. Catalogue bound in two hardback volumes in a slip-case. 736 pages including 16 plates (142 colour illus.), 627 pages with approx. 3900 colour illustrations and 5 pages of hallmarks with 166 b/w illustrations.
A richly-illustrated publication presenting for the first time a complete catalogue of the unique Alice and Louis Koch collection of finger rings which must surely be one of the most remarkable in existence. Rivalled only by the British Museum, and comprising 1,980 rings from over 4,000 years, this collection affords the scholar to an almost uninterrupted study of the evolution of ring shapes and design, providing new evidence for dating. Further, through this miniature art form historical events, religious practices, social customs and superstitions may be traced and identified. This sumptuous publication, in which lavish illustration and meticulous scholarship are combined, displays all 1,980 rings in full colour with at least two views. In addition there are 16 colour plates showing in dramatic enlargement over 140 selected items from the collection. The work is accessible for both German and English readers, with a description and critical commentary for each ring in German, accompanied by an English summary. The catalogue includes a glossary and indexes in both languages as well as an extensive bibliography. This important work is the culmination of six years of painstaking scholarship by the author, supported by the research of specialists world-wide, making this splendid collection available to historians of jewellery, of art, and of civilization, as well as to all those who simply delight in beautiful things.
Item nr: 3683

Barchalia, S. Inro - Medicine Boxes from Edo-period. -their usage and history.
Copenhagen, S. Barchalia, 2000, First edition, Octavo, Softcover, book condition: New. 25 Pages, Illustrated throughout.
An interesting catalogue on the subject of Inro (Japanese medicine boxes). The catalogue discusses aspects of the history, medicine, signature and decoration.
Dr. Barchalia has a degree of Master of Conservation-Restoration Science and is appointed at the National Museum of Denmark.
Item nr: 7882

Barry Davies Oriental Art Japanese Lacquer. Nambokucho to Zeshin - The Collection of Mike and Hiroko Dean.
London, Barry Davies Oriental Art, 2002, First edition, Folio, Hardcover, book condition: As new, dust jacket condition: As new. 304 Pages, 116 pieces illustrated in multiple colour plates.
This beautiful volume illustrates Japanese lacquerwares and inro in the renowned collection of Mike and Hiroko Dean, ranging in date from the 14th to the 19th century. Nambokucho (1336-1392) constitutes a short period at the end of the Kamakura era. It was a time of internal disturbances and two rival branches of the Imperial family were vying for succession. The most powerful of the warlords, Ashikaga Takauji, occupied Kyoto, and had himself appointed shogun by Emperor Komyo of the Hoku-cho (northern dynasty) in order to set up the Ashikaga Shogunate of the early Muromachi period. The branch of the Imperial family with the more legitimate claim to the succession, had established its court around the Emperor Go-Daigo at Mt. Yoshino, about 70 km south of KYoto; hence Hoku-cho (northern dynasty in Kyoto) and Nan-cho (southern dynasty at Mt. Yoshino). As the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate increased, the Hoku-cho branchn grew more powerful and in 1392, Nan-cho agreed to return to Kyoto at the request of Shogun.
Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), well known to Western collectors, was the last of the great creative lacquer artists of the Edo period.
Item nr: 7464

Bushell, R. Netsuke Familiar and Unfamiliar.
New York, Weatherhill, 1975, First Edition, 4to, Decorative Cloth, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 259 Pages, 790 colour illustrations, bibliography, glossary, index. This volume presents endless varieties of netsuke systematically categorized to serve as a principle guide for netsuke collectors.
A much used standard work.
Item nr: 8205

Bushell, R. Netsuke Familiar and Unfamiliar.
New York, Weatherhill, 1975, First Edition, 4to, Hardcover, book condition: Near Fine, dust jacket condition: Near Fine. 259 Pages, 790 colour illustrations, bibliography, glossary, index. This volume presents endless varieties of netsuke systematically categorized to serve as a principle guide for netsuke collectors.
A much used standard work.
Item nr: 10720

Ellsworth, Robert H. Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (3 volumes).
New York, Random House, 1987, First Edition, Folio, Original Woven Cloth & slipcase, book condition: As New, dust jacket condition: As New. Vol. I: Text. Catalogue entries for 875 pieces including specifications, biographies and translations of the calligraphic texts. Vol. II: The Paintings. 369 pp. of colour reproductions. Vol. III: The Calligraphies. 288 pp. of colour reproductions. All edges gilt.
An important reference work in immaculate condition with the original folding box and cardboard shipping case.
The culmination of more than three decades of study and collecting, the three-volume Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: 1800-1950 is one of the most important, sumptuous publications of Asian Art.
Taking a period that has been ignored and undervalued by scholars, curators, and collectors, Robert Ellsworth has produced a work that not only forces us to re-examine all previous assessments of that tumultuous era in Chinese art, but promises to launch a new wave of interest in, and appreciation for, its unique achievements. Through more than 850 superb examples from his own collection, the author shows how exposure to Western art led, in painting, to an extraordinary new diversity and vitality, and how archeological discoveries in China fueled a dazzling renaissance in calligraphy.
Two of the three volumes reproduce 550 paintings and 325 calligraphies, representing the work of every major artist of the period in full color. The extensive commentaries in the third volume include biographies of each artist. Every calligraphy, inscription, and seal is transliterated into precise English.
The breadth and depth of fresh scholarship, the quality of the art, and the luxurious production combine to make Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: 1800-1950 one of the monumental achievements in art book publishing in our century: an essential source book for anyone interested in Asian art, and an object of permanent beauty and value.
Item nr: 8003

Espir, Helen European Decoration on Oriental Porcelan.
London, Jorge Welsh Books, 2005, First Edition, Quarto, Cloth, book condition: As New, dust jacket condition: As New. 272 Pages with 212 colour and 22 black and white illustrations.
In Europe, from the late 17th century onwards, the work of independent enamellers on glass and tin-glazed earthenware and later on European porcelain is well recognised. Their decoration of Chinese and Japanese porcelain however, has been largely ignored. In this book for the first time the work of European decorators on oriental porcelain throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries is examined, focussing particularly on enamellers in Holland, Germany and England. Their wide range of styles and subjects of decoration is fully illustrated in colour and put into social, historical and economic context. The revelation of such quality and variety may well astonish readers and the book will provide an essential source of reference. The latest research by scholars in America, Great Britain, Germany and The Netherlands is incorporated.
CONTENTS: Foreword by J.V.G.Mallet; Author’s Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction;
Chapter 1. The Portuguese and Dutch Trade 1500-1700, & the Response of the Delft Potters
Chapter 2. The Importance of the Collection of Augustus the Strong in Dresden, c.1700-1733.
Chapter 3. Japanese and Chinese Styles in European Decoration and the Resulting Chinoiseries
Chapter 4. Fine European Decoration: the Development of Chinoiserie & its European Sources.
Chapter 5. Dutch Decoration: Topical Subjects and their Historical Context
Chapter 6. English Decoration on Oriental Porcelain, c.1700-1830.
Conclusion. Appendices 1 & 2. Appendix 3. Glossary. Bibliography. Illustration List. Photographic Credits. Index.
Item nr: 3361

Gulik, R.H. van Urvaçi - Een Oud-Indisch Tooneelstuk Van Kalidasa.
's-Gravenhage, N.V. Adi Poestaka, 1932, First Edition, Octavo, Original Wraps, book condition: Very Good. Urvaci - An ancient Indian play by Kalidasa, translated from the original with an introduction.
84 pages, with vignettes by the author. Original copy! Dutch text.
An extremely scarce and early work by this highly sought after writer and connoisseur of far Eastern art and languages. Van Gulik translated this work from the Sanskrit at the age of only 22.
Item nr: 570

Hartmann, A. Okimono - Masterpieces of Japanese Decorative Sculpture During the Meiji Period from the Terespani Collection.
Katowice, Zaklad Poligraficzny, 2004, Privately Printed, Quarto, Simulated Leather, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 105 Pages, fully illustrated in colour.
The first book to be published solely dealing with Japanese Okimono.
Item nr: 11631

Heckmann, Gunther Kodogu.
Nurtingen, H.U.B. Verlag, 1996, Limited, Folio, Decorative Cloth, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 264 pages., over 200 colour illustrations, text in English, German and Japanese. Slipcased.
Kodogu is a sequel to Tsuba and presents the small sword fittings. Some of the selected objects and groups of objects include menuki, of which both the front and the back aspects are shown, kogai, kozuka, and fuchi-kashira are presented here for the first time. The knowledgeable descriptions of the subjects provide a profound insight into the complex tradition of Japanese metal art and the multi-faceted relationship between the warrior and his sword. An introduction to the history of Japanese sword fittings also provides the lay public with an easily comprehensible introduction to this fascinating subject.
Published in a limited edition of 1000 copies.
Item nr: 11727

Heckmann, Günther Tsuba.
Nürthingen, H.U.B. Verlag, 1995, First Edition, Oblong, Hardcover with Slipcase, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 176 pages, full colour images throughout.
Written in Japanese, English and German, this luscious book presents 145 tsuba, most of which will have never been seen before. For the experts, perhaps od gaps will be filled and new questions arise. For the interested layman the book also gives a good introduction to this important part of Japanese art, through its reproductions and texts which are delibrately confined to the essentials.
There is a complete summary of the signatures
Item nr: 11728

Helft, Jacques Les Grands Orfevres De Louis XIII a Charles X, (the Great silversmiths of Louis XIII to Charles X).
No place stated, Hachette, 1965, First edition, Quarto, Hardcover, book condition: Fine, dust jacket condition: Near fine. 335 Pages, rchly illustrated in colour and black and white. French text.
Amazing work on the finest pieces of silver of the Louis XIII to Charles X era's.
Item nr: 8277

Jiao Bingzhen Gengzhi tu (Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving) 1 volume being the illustrations of Tilling.
Beijing, 1739, First Thus, Quarto, Three-Quarter Leather, book condition: Good. This scarce volume of the Gengzhi tu (Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving) consists of the 23 woodblock prints of rice cultivation. Bound in a 19th century three quarter leather over cloth binding. Qianlong edition of 1739 with poems and decriptions. Condition over all very good with some minor wear. Some worm holes but not disturbing. Please inquire for a detailed description of the condition.

Images available

History of the Gengzhi tu (Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving):


In China, farming practices are deeply rooted in the distant past. In a civilization long known for its great dependence and achievements on agriculture as well as sericulture, it is hardly surprising to find systematic depictions of ploughing, harvesting, cultivation of mulberry trees, and rearing of silkworms for the weaving of silk, but the extent to which they have been appreciated, framed, and manipulated through history has yet to be fully explored. Independent images of the daily tasks associated with tilling and weaving have a very long history in China. Depictions of sericulture have been found on bronze vessels of the Warring States period between 475 and 221 B.C., while portrayals of fields ploughed by oxen appear in pictorial stones and wall murals of the Han dynasty between 206 B.C. and A.D. 220. The genesis of a fully developed pictorial cycle, however, only came about in the mid-12th century, during the latter part of the Southern Song dynasty, in the form of the so-called “Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving” (Gengzhi tu). From this time on, the pictorial theme not only spawned numerous recensions and variations, but also became increasingly popular as subject matter and decorative motifs in diverse material forms. My paper today will begin with a brief account of the principal versions of the Gengzhi tu from the Southern Song through the Qing periods. Then, by focusing on Gengzhi tu themes in prints, paintings, and porcelain of the Qing period, I hope to show how the theme underwent parallel developments at various levels of production and social consumption. In doing so, the artistic, cultural, and political factors that have sustained this theme may be better understood across the boundaries of period or medium.
The earliest known work entitled Gengzhi tu (Illustrations of Tilling and Weaving) was based on the Gengzhi shi (Poems on Tilling and Weaving), a set of 45 verses (21 on rice cultivation, and 24 on rearing silkworms for the manufacture of silk) composed for the Southern Song court around 1145 by Lou Shu (1090-1162), who was serving as a county magistrate near the imperial capital Hangzhou. Sometime around 1210, Lou Shu’s poems were engraved on stone by his grandsons with the support of their uncle, the Grand Secretary Lou You. A quarter-century or so later, in 1237, an edition of the poems was published with accompanying woodblock illustrations by Wang Gang, a prominent military officer from Jiangxi province. Although this too has not survived, it is widely believed to have been the seminal illustrated edition.
The Southern Song version of the Gengzhi tu, whose compositions are preserved in a Japanese edition of 1676, is geographically specific even though no place names are explicitly stated. At this point in time, rice cultivation in paddies, the planting of mulberry trees, and the raising of silkworms were distinctly southern Chinese activities. The emergence of the Lou Shu’s original Gengzhi tu cycle in 1145 is closely linked to the removal of the Song imperial house from Kaifeng in the north to Hangzhou in the south less than two decades earlier, in 1127. The poems and pictures they generated were clearly a statement of the new focus on the political economy of the Southern Song court, since wheat and millet could not be grown in the climatic zones of the vastly shrunken empire.
The Gengzhi tu series of pictures was well known during the early Ming dynasty by virtue of its inclusion in the Yongle dadian (Great Encyclopaedia of the Yongle Period) around 1407, but that portion of the work is unfortunately now lost. The treatise Tiangong kaiwu (Exploitation of the Work of Nature) published by Song Yingxing (b. 1587) in 1637 must also be mentioned as having included many related illustrations of agricultural and sericultural activities showcasing the latest technological advancements; it may well have served as a catalyst for the later revival of the Gengzhi tu pictorial cycle.
Gengzhi tu representations reached a heightened level of development in the early Qing dynasty. From the beginning of his long reign, the Kangxi emperor expressed great interest in agricultural activities of the empire. He established experimental ricefields on the periphery of the Fengze yuan (Garden of Abundant Marshes) in Beijing, where in 1681 or so he discovered the existence of a fragrant, early ripening type of rice called yu dao (“imperial rice”). Ready for harvest in the sixth lunar month, as opposed to the usual varieties that ripen only in the ninth month, this “imperial rice” underwent a full decade of development and testing in Beijing and Chengde; large-scale cultivation exclusively for palace consumption took place in Chengde, where the growing season was even shorter than that of Beijing. It was formally introduced by the emperor to his high officials in 1691. In 1715, the miracle rice was introduced to Suzhou, Nanjing, and other places in the Jiangnan region in south-central China, where two crops a year could be harvested. Regular and bountiful harvests have always been symbols of peace, prosperity, social harmony, and good government, and thus expressions of patriotic pride. Needless to say, multiple harvests made possible by direct imperial intervention would have been regarded as confirmation of Qing rule as mandated by Heaven.
During his southern inspection tour of 1689, the Kangxi emperor was presented with a version of the pictorial cycle. Duly impressed, he decided upon his return to Beijing to commission an updated set, for which he would contribute a preface and poems to accompany each picture. The artist selected for this task was Jiao Bingzhen (act. 1680-1720), who served as an official of the fifth rank in the Directorate of Astronomy (Qintian jian) during the period when it was headed by a Jesuit missionary; Jiao evidently acquired techniques of perspectival painting and chiaschuro from the Westerners at court. Taking as his model the Gengzhi tu version made available to him by the emperor, Jiao made certain adjustments that resulted in a total of 46 pictures equally divided between the two sections. Apart from the original version or versions (on silk and on paper) produced by the artist for transfer onto engraved woodblocks, later copyists also produced numerous painted sets based on the printed edition.
The initial printing of this revived Gengzhi tu did not take place until 1696, and thereafter several other printings were made. The preface of the Kangxi emperor was written in 41 columns of running script and subsequently engraved. It is a very interesting and personal text, far too long to present here in its entirety but for a few passages:

As I diligently labor day and night, examining [the principles of] rulership, I always remember that the most important thing for the people is food and clothing. . . . As for the one who is entrusted with a sovereign state under Heaven, he truly cannot afford not to think about these issues. . . .
During each of my inspection tours to the provinces I listened to folk songs, and I was also happy to observe agricultural activities, the characteristics of lands in the north and south, the correct way of sowing seeds for millet and glutinous rice, the differences between the early and late seasonal breaks, and the method of catching and exterminating unfledged locusts. I often love to inquire about these things and to get to know about them all very clearly. . . .
The ancients have this saying: “Those who dress in silken garments ought to think of the cold suffered by weaving women, and those who partake of grain ought to remember the hardship of farmers.” I ponder these matters very carefully and attentively, and find them most profound and apposite. Therefore, the illustrations of tilling and weaving have been copied [by my order], each comprising twenty-three pictures. For each of these illustrations I composed a poem to sing the praises of laborious toil, and had them inscribed onto the pictures. The labor of farmers which causes them to have callused hands and feet, as well as the distress of women who reel silk from cocoons and work the looms, are completely represented with great fidelity from the beginning to the end of the work.
Following precedents [of the Southern Song and later periods], woodblocks have been engraved for the purpose of preservation [of the illustrations], in order that they be shown to our descendants and subjects, so that they may all know that every single grain which they eat is the result of difficult work and every piece of cloth that they wear is not easily manufactured. . . . Only by teaching the people of the whole world to cherish their respective occupations, to be diligent and frugal, can ample food and clothing be ensured, so that all can enter the realms of peace, harmony, prosperity, and longevity. These, then, are my sincere good wishes for the well being of the people!

The preface is followed by 23 illustrations of rice-planting activities, from the soaking of seeds and ploughing to harvest-related activities such as husking and milling. These are continued by 23 pictures of sericultural and weaving activities, starting with the bathing of silkworm eggs through to the weaving, dyeing, and tailoring of silk fabrics.
The five-character regulated verses originally composed by Lou Shu are all placed in blank areas within the woodblock frame of the illustrations, while the seven-character quatrains composed by the Kangxi emperor are superimposed on the wide upper registers. The imperial poetic compositions were actually transcribed on the original painted silk set of the Gengzhi tu by the scholar-official Yan Yudun (1650-1713), a descendant of the famous Ming literatus Wen Zhengming (1470-1559). Yan mimicked the large running-script calligraphy for which the emperor was known, as he did in much of the imperial literature that issued from the palace. Several versions of this 1696 edition exist, including those with duochromatic prints using red and black ink, and those later hand-tinted with watercolours to evoke Jiao Bingzhen’s painted set.
The commissioning of an updated Gengzhi tu cycle by the Kangxi emperor in 1696 was motivated by a number of factors. First, the Manchu ruler realized that the reintroduction of a well established native Chinese pictorial theme would help to reinforce the legitimacy of Qing rule in general and that of his own reign in particular. Any unpalatable truths about the quotidian aspects of rural life were suppressed in favor of the workers’ contentment and virtue within a stable social hierarchy. The pictures also embodied the emperor’s direct role in the implementation of rice cultivation, the growing of mulberry trees, and the production of silk in northern China through improved irrigation as well as more efficient cultivation, harvesting, and weaving methods. Agricultural practices of the Qing period had advanced considerably beyond that of the Song period, and Jiao Bingzhen’s updated illustrations certainly took this into consideration. Apart from the overall reorganization of pictures, Jiao Bingzhen’s 46 images show the latest ploughing and harvesting implements with regard to riziculture, and also more sophisticated looms and other machinery for silk production.
The quasi-scientific thrust of the Kangxi-period Gengzhi tu is emphasized by the perspectival, Western technique of visual representation employed by Jiao Bingzhen. The engraving of Jiao’s designs onto woodblocks made possible mass production and speedy dissemination throughout the empire. There were, to be sure, deluxe editions reserved for imperial perusal, but simpler sets of prints stitch-bound in book form or mounted as album leaves were routinely presented to high officials in the bureaucracy. These, once dispersed throughout the empire, could be copied, recut, and reprinted for mass markets, as was the case.
Woodblock-printed sets of the Gengzhi tu were made primarily for distribution outside the palace. The Kangxi emperor also ordered the production of painted sets based on Jiao Bingzhen’s updated images. Numerous such sets are known to have been made so that they could be placed in various quarters of the imperial palaces in Beijing, Chengde, and Shenyang. A number of these have survived and are housed in various collections. The National Palace Museum in Taibei has an album of tilling and weaving pictures that was painted by the court artist Leng Mei during the Kangxi period and subsequently deposited in the Yangxin dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation).
Although the Song, Yuan, and Ming versions of the Gengzhi tu continued to be employed as models, it was Jiao Bingzhen’s rendition of 1696 that served as the principal model for copyists during the Qing period. A remarkable 52-leaf album of Gengzhi tu pictures, commissioned by Prince Yong (the future Yongzheng emperor) between 1712 and 1722, is preserved in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Apart from containing a complete set of 46 illustrations, six additional pictures were made. As these were not accompanied by poetic inscriptions, the spaces above them were left blank. The prince had his distinctive portrait inserted in each composition as the main figure performing agricultural activities, and in many of the sericultural pictures his consort is also shown as the principal female figure. To be sure, many elaborate sets of costume portraits were commissioned during the Yongzheng reign, as seen in these examples, but the Gengzhi tu album represents one of the very few known from the pre-accession period. As heir apparent, Prince Yong’s choice of the Gengzhi tu for a set of costume portraits was carefully orchestrated. By having himself portrayed tilling the soil, engaging in backbreaking agricultural labor, and having female members of his household represented as industrious weavers, the prince was in fact proclaiming his legitimate position in the imperial succession and his role as a future ruler, being concerned with the most fundamental aspects of the political economy. He was clearly also paying homage to his father, the elderly Kangxi emperor who had so energetically revived the theme. Having the album done while the Kangxi emperor was still alive was one of the most expedient ways of assuring him that his legacy would be continued.
Early in his reign, the Qianlong emperor took pains to put his own mark on the Gengzhi tu theme. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, he commissioned his own woodblock-printed version in 1739, with a fresh set of imperial prefaces, poems, and pictures believed to have been executed by the court painter Chen Mei (act. mid-18th century) but based on those by Jiao Bingzhen. In 1769, the Qianlong emperor ordered the pictures and poems on the Gengzhi tu executed by the Yuan-dynasty artist Cheng Qi (act. second half of 13th century) to be engraved on stone, from which rubbings could then be taken and widely disseminated. But the 1696 version by Jiao Bingzhen was still the preferred model, as demonstrated by a number of works now in the National Palace Museum, such as a Qianlong painted album of the same subject by Chen Mei, as well as an anonymous album of paintings.
Apart from painted sets, miniature albums were also made, some provided with their own cases and others placed within the tiny but lavishly decorated treasure-box ensembles (duobao ge). One such miniaturized treatment of the theme by court artists was made during the early Qianlong period (between 1736-1745) and deposited in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It is divided into two cases (one containing 23 pictures of tilling and the other 23 of weaving). Each case contains four volumes measuring only 9.54 cm in the vertical dimension, 5.4 cm across, and only 1.64-1.74 cm in thickness. The first volume of the “tilling” pictures contains the preface of Kangxi emperor. The pictures are all in ink and color on silk and every one is accompanied by a caption title. Each picture is followed by poems composed by the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong emperors; they were inscribed in gold ink on black paper by the official Zhang Zhao and the gold decorative borders surrounding the texts all depict twin dragons clamoring for a pearl. Although such miniature versions were based on Jiao Bingzhen’s model, court artists often took liberties in rearranging various parts of the compositions, just as Jiao made changes to Lou Shu’s original pictorial scheme.
The broad appeal of this thematic set of words and images continued well into the nineteenth century, when still more editions of the Gengzhi tu appeared. It even transcended the medium of paintings and prints, finding great popularity in the decorative arts (for example, lacquerware and carved jades) and as motifs for China’s domestic and export porcelain industries.
Many sets of the 1696 Gengzhi tu pictures, which were originally monochromatic prints, were attractively hand-tinted to make them appear more like paintings or color prints, and a number found their way into European collections, as is the case with these leaves from albums in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Bavarian State Library (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek) in Munich. Painted versions of the Gengzhi tu were also made for the export market. An undated album in the Bibliothèque nationale de France entitled Nongjia gengtian tu (“Illustrations of Agricultural Scenes”), which is believed to have been made around 1746, exemplifies the style that appealed to such a market. Although the compositions were very closely based on the 1696 prototype, they were rendered in a style typical of export pictures, as seen in these selected leaves. Watercolors, rather than the traditional Chinese mineral pigments, were employed, but more importantly, the poetic inscriptions, clearly deemed superfluous for a non-Chinese audience, have been left out.
The printing of the Gengzhi tu from woodblocks in 1696 had a significant and virtually instantaneous impact on many forms of decorative art. In the realm of porcelain production, the nearly four dozen Gengzhi tu illustrations, perfect for adaptation to large sets of porcelain, were applied to a wide variety of ceramic forms during the later Kangxi period, i.e. between 1696 and 1722. Examples include large round dishes decorated with famille verte enamels such as this pair in the Musée Guimet in Paris, another fine pair in the Porzellansammlung of the Zwinger in Dresden, as well as these large mallet-shaped vases in wucai or “five-color” enamels, from the Musée Guimet and the Palace Museum in Beijing. The square compositions of Jiao Bingzhen’s 1696 woodblock series were freely adapted to various porcelain shapes and adjusted to take into account three-dimensional surfaces, but these Kangxi porcelains retain the corresponding poetic inscriptions. However, later porcelain examples, such as a Qianlong-period moon flask (bianhu) in the Tianjin Museum with a “tilling” scene, often dispensed with the inscriptions altogether.
The porcelain examples shown were manufactured in considerable quantities for the domestic popular and élite markets, but there were also unique or limited-edition works made for imperial consumption. One of the most interesting and contrived treatments of the Gengzhi tu theme is to be seen in an 18th-century set of albums from the Palace Museum, Beijing, featuring white porcelain panels decorated with the full complement of pictures in sepia ink, with each picture facing poetic inscriptions by the Qianlong emperor. Here, the conflation of woodblock-printed books, painted albums, and ceramic forms is made even more remarkable by the act of miniaturization. A number of significant changes may be observed: the more or less square compositions of the 1696 pictures have become tall rectangular ones; the poems by Lou Shu and the Kangxi emperor have been omitted, leaving only the short caption titles; the experience of viewing a pair of pictures upon opening each double-spread of an album has been altered by having the Qianlong inscriptions taking up all the left-hand leaves; and finally, the redistribution of the 46 pictures and the 46 texts across four separate albums, rather than the traditional one or two, reflects the flamboyance of many Qianlong-period artifacts.
This brief excursus into the everyday world of tilling and weaving pictures shows how a very simple theme in Chinese visual culture survived and developed through time, lending itself to popular and sophisticated applications across a wide range of media. Ostensibly representations of agricultural life, Gengzhi tu pictures have had profound social and political meanings attached to them, but all too often only their decorative functions have been stressed. Beginning in the Southern Song as exclusive painted specimens for the imperial court, Gengzhi tu pictures became far more accessible through woodblock-printing in the Ming. However, it was the Kangxi-period revival of the pictorial theme in 1696 that set the stage for its widespread appearance in new forms. Within China, the Gengzhi tu pictures functioned as reminders of imperial interests in rice and silk culture. By virtue of their appearance in many vivid prints and striking porcelains of the Qing period which were made for export or brought to Europe, they played an important role as iconic emblems of a Cathay that mixed, matched, and recycled images of its artistry, industry, and productivity.
Item nr: 8483

Jorg, C. Fine and Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections.
Leiden, KIT, 2002, First Edition, Quarto, Cloth, book condition: Near fine, dust jacket condition: Near fine. 304 Pages, 420 colour illustrations.
A lasting testimony of the Dutch-Japanese relationship is the porcelain made in Arita for the Dutch market in the 17th and 18th centuries. The VOC was instrumental in ordering, and distributing a great variety of these export wares, although private trade played an important role as well. Japanese porcelain became integrated into the Dutch lifestyle and simulated the interest in exotic things from the East. Substantial amounts of porcelain were imported into the Netherlands. Of cource, many pieces have since been lost, but Dutch public and private collections still contain a wide selection of Japanese export wares. This study discusses the many types, varieties, and extraordinary pieces in these collections, often describing them for the first time. All together this survey gives a fascinating insight in a specific aspect of Dutch-Japanese interactions.
Item nr: 11387

Jörg, Chr. & Impey, Oliver Japanese Export Lacquer.
Leiden, Hotei, 2005, First Edition, Folio, Hardcover with Slipcase, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 400 Pages, over 600 colour illustrations.
Japanese export lacquer exerted an influence on European art and decoration quite out of proportion to its physical presence in Europe. The vast amounts shipped from Japan – mainly in three stages (1590s–1640, 1639–93, 1800–40s) – demonstrate the need for the study of this beautiful material.
Japanese export lacquer is the first full treatment of lacquerware made to European demand, its transportation and the lacquer market in Europe as well as the effect of lacquer and its use in a European context. Trading patterns and its use are described in detail, based on the documentary evidence of Europeans in the Far East, on notes kept by the Portuguese in Japan, on the important and comprehensive archives of the Dutch East India Company and to a lesser extent and for a shorter period, of the English Honourable East India Company, as well as on contemporary comments and inventories within Europe. Full use is made of the sparse Japanese documentation of the trade, only available for the period 1709–11 and the early nineteenth century. Reference is also made to additional records kept by American ships’ captains and supercargoes from Massachusetts.
The authors describe and illustrate the huge variety of known lacquer shapes and decorations produced for all markets within the three periods mentioned above and to a lesser extent in the eighteenth century, where the documentation is scarce and the demand less. This involves several hundred individual pieces, most of which are illustrated.
Japanese lacquer was soon recognized as the best available and it seems never to have gone out of fashion in Europe, even when the shapes of the furniture on which it appeared did. Japanese lacquer furniture was dismantled to provide panels for inlay into European furniture as tastes changed. This important feature in the history of European furniture is discussed at length and illustrated by many examples.
Additional material was sourced from such instances as the ‘embassy’ to the French Court sent by the King of Siam to Paris in 1684 via the adventurer Constant Phaulkon, and the lists of lacquerware and other items presented to the Royal family.
This publication includes appendices and a full scholarly apparatus of bibliography, glossary, concordance, etc.
Item nr: 11382

Keblusek, M. Japansch Magazijn - Japanse Kunst en Cultuur in 19de-eeuws Den Haag.
Leiden, Hotei, 2000, First edition, Octavo, Softcover, book condition: New. 95 Pages, illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photographs and images. Dutch text.
An excellent exhibition catalogue on Japanese art and culture in The Hague (Netherlands) during the 19th century.
It was not until Captain Perry of the United States fleet broke open the isolation of Japan after which Japanese art works started finding their way to Europe and the United States and thus Japonism became the new influence in the west. In The Hague, however, a large variety of Japanese art works were already openly for sale during the beginning of the 19th century. This was a result of the private trade over the centuries through the Dutch East India Company.
A very interesting catalogue!
Item nr: 7881

Kozyreff, Chantal La Route de la Porcelaine - Quelques porcelaines sino-japonaises d'exportation choisies dans la collection du Pavillon Chinois.
Brussels, Ca. 1975, Quarto, Softcover, book condition: Very Good. 52 pages, text in French. There are no images.
A typed transcript, describing some of the items in the collection of the Chinese Pavillion in Bruxelles. The items contain Japanese export porcelains, Chinese export porcelains etc.
Item nr: 10874

Manheim, R. Haiku & Haiga - Moments in Word and Image.
Leiden, Hotei, 2006, First edition, Quarto, Hardcover, book condition: New, dust jacket condition: New. 208 Pages, illustrated throughout in colour.
This bilingual (German/English) publication supports the exhibition Haiku & Haiga to be held in Museum Schloss Moyland (Bedburg-Hau, Germany) in April 2006. This selection of beautiful Japanese scrolls shows the poetic power of the combination of the word and the image. The texts on all 78 exhibited objects are published in Japanese (in kanji and in transcription) as well as in German/English translation, supplemented with comments. Contributions by specialists among which Prof. Dr. Ekkehard May, Drs. Anna Beerens and Dr. Dan McKee.
Item nr: 7543

N/A Hokusai - Bridging East and West.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 1998, First Edition, Quarto, Softcover, book condition: Good: slight water damage. 202 pages, text in Japanese with English introduction. Full colour images.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the artists' death, an exhibition was organised. This is the catalogue to the exhibition.
Many of his prints are shown, with Japanese explanation. It does contain an English bibliography.
Item nr: 10689

Rappard-Boon, Charlotte The Age of Harunobu. Early Japanese Prints 1700-1780. Catalogue of the Collection of Japanese Prints Part 1.
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1977, First Edition, Quarto, Soft Cover, book condition: Very Good. 103 Pages. Richly illustrated in colour & black and white. Index, bibliography
The first part of the five catalogues of Japanese prints in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Item nr: 3170