Hackney

1941 · ref. 41150 — London; New York; Toronto: Oxford University Press 1941. First edition. Hardcover. g to vg. Folio 15 1/4 x 12". XVI 279 1pp Text 56 leaves Plates; 10pp Supplement. Original gilt-stamped olive cloth with gold lettering to spine. Title page with printed Chinese seal in red. A printed 10-page supplement published in 1941 laid in at rear. "The volume begins with an Introduction and a general description of the collection. These are followed by a description of each painting and the translation of its seals and inscriptions. At the end of the book is a chapter on seals their carving and use together with the photographic reproduction of 115 seals and a key with their translation and the identification of their owners and Biographical Notes on the painters commentators poets and seal-owners connected with the paintings. There are also an Index of Chinese names words terms and seals with their Chinese characters and English Indexes of proper names seals in translation and miscellanea covering such subjects as calligraphy its styles and use as an art form; discussion of paper and silk and of signatures; duties of officials legends and stories connected with the paintings; paintings ancestral animals birds flowers and plants religious subjects and their use on special occasions and for special purposes symbols and symbolism; technique brush strokes materials used and preparation of and methods used for Buddhist paintings buildings flowers etc and by individual painters" from the publishers. Of the 56 collotype plates featured in this work 48 deal with paintings and are composed of 36 full-page monochrome plates 3 full-page color plates 7 manifold monochrome plates and 2 manifold color plates. The remaining plates are composed of 5 full-page plates of calligraphy and 3 full-page plates of seals. The paintings in the collection date from pre-T'ang times to the Ch'ing Dynasty some of them among the greatest Chinese paintings known. Among them are the great landscape by Hsia Küei and such recorded paintings as "An Assembly of Birds on a Willow Bank" attributed to Huang Ch'üan; "Snow River and Returning Boat" by Emperor Hui Tsung; "An Orchid in Autumn" by Chêng Ssu-hsiao; "Mountains and Water" by Mi Fei; "A White Prunus in Blossom" by Wang Mien etc. Minor to moderate shelf wear. Binding in overall good interior in very good condition. Oxford University Press hardcover