National Anthropological Archives

Guide to MS 7421 Chinese watercolor paintings illustrating the rice industry

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.MS7421
Creators:
Unknown
Dates:
undated
Languages:
Captions are in
English
.
Physical Description:
10 Paintings (visual works)
watercolor on pith paper
13 x 9 inches
Repository:
Container:
7162 / 7421 / 7508 / 7591
2

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
A set of ten (10) watercolor paintings on pith paper.
The following are descriptions of the pictures that are copied from an accompanying sheet:
(1) harvesting rice--the cycles in the farmers' hands are made of iron and palm wood
(2) carrying sheaves of rice to be thrashed
(3) threshing rice--the flail used is made of palm wood and bamboo
(4) sweeping the rice grain together in order to have it sifted
(5) sifting the rice--the woman represented uses a wooden dipper in order to put a small amount of rice in a hulling mill at a time
(6) bolting the rice flour
(7) showing samples to customer
(8) selling rice shoots to commission merchant
(9) a rice merchant and his attendant
(10) carrying rice to be weighed
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Historical Note

Historical Note
Chinese export watercolors were painted in the port cities of China for sale to western customers in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the watercolors were done in sets such as trades, domestic interiors and gardens, boats, birds, mandarins, and punishments.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Received by the United States National Museum from Foster Jennings through exchange, August 20, 1893. Transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives by Chang-su Houchins, August 1986.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Preferred Citation
MS 7421 Chinese watercolor paintings illustrating the rice industry, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
NAA INV 10000081

Variant title

Variant title
Illustrations of the rice industry


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
China trade watercolor painting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Watercolors Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
East Asia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chinese Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
China Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Works of art Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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