Art

First edition, first impression, of this uncommon album reproducing 50 exquisite examples of papercut "Window Flowers" created by Liu Chen, a local artist known to the author. These designs, sold at local Peiping fairs before the Chinese New Year, were mounted in homes to bring prosperity and good fortune for the coming year. OCLC records no copies in British institutions. Each page is illustrated with a half-page reproduction of the papercut and an accompanying explanatory paragraph. The selected designs demonstrate the prevalence of agricultural and natural world symbolism in traditional Chinese culture. Fish embody affluence and correspondence with others, pigs are the bringers of wealth, a dragon and phoenix pairing suggest marital happiness, while cats and butterflies convey longevity. Alfred Koehn was a German diplomat and botany enthusiast who worked in Japan and then in China where he established a residence, "The Lotus Court", in a traditional Beijing hutong. Koehn authored a number of books on Japan and China, many distinguished by their beautiful illustrations. Quarto. Original green paper boards, red papercut silhouette on white paper background to front cover. With 48 red and 2 black and gold woodcut illustrations after papercuts by Liu Chen. Slight wear to spine, spine ends slightly worn and bumped, very light marking to covers, a little discolouration to endpapers, internally clean with bright and sharp illustrations. An excellent copy. .