Chinese Pith Painting circa 1850

A Beautiful Chinese Painting on Pith paper, of a wild rose surrounded by butterflies, in lovely fresh colours. There is the usual discolouring to the corners (see photo no.3) but the actual painting is in lovely condition.  Pith paper is often confused with rice paper but in fact is made from the pith of the Tetrapanax Papyriferum plant of Southern China and Taiwan, and was used for centuries in China for making artificial flowers.  In the 19th Century it became a popular medium for watercolour paintings, many of which were bound into albums and brought back by Western tourists

dimensions
14 3/4" x 10"