Two paintings on paperboard trimmed with cut and painted foil. A: Perhaps a theatrical scene, depicting a visitor and his entourage entering from the right toward a group (court figures and a man with painted face) occupying an interior/exterior scene at the center and the left. The painting style is somewhat crude but includes intricate detailing. The pigment may be watercolor or tempera and is painted on white paper. The central image is surrounded by an immediate border of painted white paper which has been cut to display some openwork. Painted along this border are images of fruits and flowers and a bat (?). Behind this white paper, a layer of red paper is visible through the open work. At the top center of this border a sticker with red ink on white ground has been adhered. It is in the form of an upside down butterfly. The exterior border is an intricate gold foil, cut and painted in a similar fashion to the white paper border. Painted alon the border are images of birds, butterflies, cats, lotus, peach, citron, fan, bell and other fruits and flowers. Many of the symbols appear to have Buddhist connotations. Behind some of the painted images a piece of silver metal (or very thick foil) has been inserted so that it will show through the open work in the gold foil layer on the top. Some of the open work is in the form of Chinese characters. Red paper is visible through the openwork where there is not silver middle layer. A layer of off white paper serves as a backing for the piece. The paint is severely flaking from the painted foil sections. Two pieces of yellowed tape are visible on the back to repair tears. B: Is quite similar to (A) and was certainly painted by the same hand(s). The borders are virtually identical but the central scene differs. Depicted is a group interior scene with two figures whose faces are painted in the manner of warriors of the Chinese opera. This painting has experienced less paint loss than (A). On the back there is a long piece of yellowed tape along the central vertical axis.

1997.052.025