Item #23273 Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.
(Illustrated Book)

Chinoiseries / Costumes d'Antan.

(France / China: c. 1900). Octavo. (22)pp. Album of Chinese landscapes in original watercolors, facing depictions of women's antique costumes painted on silk, interleaved with tissue. "Chinoiserie" refers to European art characterized by imagery of a romanticized China, a notion that similarly underpins the genre of costume books, which presented foreign fashion through a European lens. It appears that the brightly-colored landscapes in this album were done later than the silk paintings, most likely by a Western artist. Included are market scenes, depictions of boats on a river, and pagodas. These European stylings contrast with the depictions of Chinese fashion opposite them, bringing a stark juxtaposition of East and West not often seen in costume books. The delicate paintings of costumes on silk are done in a much more traditional Chinese style. Great attention is paid to details, such as the knotted red and green silk cords worn around the women's waists, floral hair ornaments, and the subtle patterns of their loose-sleeved robes. One woman carries a basket of flowers, another poses beside a deer, and one is dressed as a warrior with a sword, in a jacket and loose trousers, tying on her knee guards. The costumes are colored in soft shades of blue, pink, and green. Very fine in soft gilt-titled white calf with raised bands on the spine, blind-tooled with decorative rules. Housed in a flannel-lined box. Item #23273

Price: $1,850.00

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