It has always been a pleasure to come across a certain type of painting, which we know as "rice painting" or "paintings done on rice paper."
They could be framed individual Chinese subjects, or it could be, if we are lucky, an album of paintings done on this special paper, depicting various ways of life, or flowers or birds, that are found on the continent of China, but there is quite a bit of mystique about this rice paper, which has nothing to do with rice whatsoever.
It is, in fact, "pith" paper, and it seems to have been adopted to paint on from about 1820, or thereabouts.
As I say, it is erroneously called "rice paper" or "mulberry pith," and this, actually, is made from the central column of a tree called the Tetrapanax papyrifera, a native of southwest China.
It had a variety of uses going back many centuries.
At an imperial court, men and women wore coloured flowers made from the pith in their hair.
It also used to be used to produce toys for children in craftwork, and it is still sold as a Chinese medicine to make a diuretic infusion, but for use in painting, it is hand-cut with a knife into thin sheets from short lengths of a spongy tissue.
The sheets are then dried, trimmed, and used for painting, without any further processing; an absolute boon for artists with low-cost raw materials.
It seems that the 1830s–1840s may have been the heyday of this type of painting.
The international trading bases on the waterfront factories, called the "hongs" in Canton, were the main source of supply for items being shipped abroad.
Frequently, albums of these beautifully painted subjects were given as presents to visiting dignitaries.
The cultural exchange between China also played a significant role in the popularity of rice paper painting.
The paintings often depicted social life and the district scenes capturing the essence of the bustling port life of China.
It would appear that although these are very dense watercolours, they don’t seem to fade to any great extent, but I must say that when you find an album when they have been shut away, totally enclosed for hundreds of years, they do have a certain vibrancy, which is a joy to view.
It is the accuracy and the colours that make them so beautiful to look at.
The paper that it is painted on is quite fragile, and is very easily damaged without careful handling of it.
I certainly don’t think it would be worth restoring these pictures to any great extent, because, even today, they don’t make a fortune.
A single subject matter might make £50 or £60 if you are lucky, but it is a part of the history of China and the way it found its way onto the European market, and still a pleasure to find today.
Mike Hicks has run Stalham Antique Gallery at 29 High Street, Stalham (NR12 9AH) for more than 30 years. His business is open Mondays to Fridays from 9am-1pm and 2-4.30pm, and on Saturdays from 9am-1pm. You can contact Mike on 01692 580636 or info@mikehicksantiques.co.uk or www.mikehicksantiques.co.uk
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