[Chinese Art] [Pillow Book]
Gay Chinese Erotic Hand-Painted Accordion Book
A most unusual and rare collection of six graphic depictions of erotic homosexual scenes, painted and bound into an accordion book with silk-covered boards. China, late nineteenth - early twentieth century. Each image approx. 6.5 x 8.5 inches, bound to an overall size of 4.5 x 10 inches. Heavy wear to the fabric tape used to bind the upper and lower edges of the pages, with fraying and toning; internally fine and overall very good.Traditionally given by her mother on her wedding day, a pillow book was usually meant to teach a young bride about the art of love making and typically issued in sets of 6, 8 or 12 panels. With many pillow books destroyed during the early days of Communist China, and this being the only pillow-type book we have seen containing homosexual scenes, this is a most unusual reference to this tradition. (16419)
Art Art & Design