Indo-Chinese school | 45 watercolour drawings of fruits and flowers, mounted in large folio album, nineteenth century

[Indo-Chinese School]

Album of fruits and flowers, nineteenth century

A collection of 45 large watercolour drawings, many on wove Whatman paper dated between 1794 and 1811, others on laid paper, some drawings with manuscript captions or numbers in pencil, one drawing with two annotations in ink, mounted in large folio album (712 x 514mm.), nineteenth-century dark blue half morocco over dark green boards, some spotting, browning, and adhesive residue at extremities of some drawings, final drawing with more extensive spotting and small closed tear at upper margin, adhesive transfer to section of one drawing, one drawing detached from album, mounts faded, extremities rubbed

A FINE COLLECTION OF LARGE WATERCOLOUR DRAWINGS, SOME FROM THE 'STRAITS SCHOOL'.

Stylistic differences between the drawings and use of different paper stock suggests that these fruits and flowers are the work of multiple artists. The Straits School was a hybrid Indo-Chinese style.

The album includes the bookplate of Winifred Bois (1875-1966), daughter of amateur photographer F.W. Bois (1848-1921), whose family had held a prominent place in the mercantile life of Ceylon since the 1860s. 

PROVENANCE:

Winifred Bois (1875-1966), bookplate to front pastedown (dated 1930)