2002b

Chinese Publications; Masterpieces in Art History: 2 RARE BOOKS

Currency:USD Category:Art / Region - Asian Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Chinese Publications; Masterpieces in Art History: 2 RARE BOOKS
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Two Rare Books. Chinese Publications; Masterpieces in Art History:
1. Peking the Beautiful by Herbert C. White. Shanghai, China: The Commercial Press, 1927.
2. An Old Chinese Garden: a Three-fold Masterpiece of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting by Wen Chen Ming. Studies written by Kate Kerby. Translations by Mo Zung Chung.Shanghai: Chung Hwa Book Company, 1923.

Peking the Beautiful
Comprising seventy photographic studies of the celebrated monuments of China's northern capital and its environs complete with descriptive and historical notes by Herbert C. White, Art Director, Signs of the Times Publishing House, Shanghai. Introduction by Hu Shih, Ph. D., formerly Professor of Philosophy at the National University University of Peking. White dedicated the book, "To All Lovers of China's Glorious Artistic Heritage" and expressed sincere thanks to Princess Der Ling for her preparation of the captions of the book which she transcribed from the expertise of the Empress Dowager in the Forbidden City. 1920s China was a period particularly marked by the emergence of photographically illustrated publications dedicated to famous places. As is stated in the book's preface: “The very fact that so many of the ancient landmarks (...) are being torn from their foundations and ruthlessly destroyed, makes an album of this kind not only interesting as an art volume, but a work of immeasurable value to China and to the world, as an authentic record of picturesque Peking." Folio, original embroidered silk pictorial boards. Contains 70 photographic plates mounted, numerous illustrations in text. Rare and desirable publication in poor condition. Professional restoration recommended. In better condition this book sells for over $10,000. See Photos.

An Old Chinese Garden: a Three-fold Masterpiece of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting by Wen Chen Ming.
Quarto (318 x 253 mm). Japanese-style fukuro-toji pouch binding, bright blue Chinese silk brocade over beveled boards with lattice design incorporating the swastika (called the Wan in Chinese), title gilt to spine and front board, gold silk ties, yellow marbled endpapers. 33 monochrome landscape views with accompanying calligraphy, and additional inscriptions. First edition of this most attractive work, illustrating a series of exquisite landscapes by the painter, calligrapher, poet and scholar Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), considered as one of the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty. "Wen Zhengming was the preeminent Ming painter of gardens. Returning to Suzhou after an unhappy stay in Peking in 1527, he was given a studio in the renowned Zhuo Zheng Yuan, or the Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician, then being created by his friend, the retired censor ? and unsuccessful politician ? Xang Xianchen. Repeating the creative process of Wang Wei eight centuries before, Wen Zhengming translated the garden into painting and poetry. In 1535 Wen produced an album of thirty-one views, each accompanied by a poem and a note describing the site With characteristic restraint, Wen chose only to use ink, making, as the ninth-century painting historian Zhang Yanyuan put it, 'the phoenix look colourful without the use of the five colours'" (Alfreda Murck and Wen Fong, A Chinese Garden… [For full description see AbeBooks or ZVAB]