Chinese School, circa 1790; Rice production – a set of three
£7,500 set or £3,500 each

Chinese export painting. 18th/early 19th century. Tinqua school. Gouache on paper depicting Rice Production.

Albums showing Chinese production processes became popular during the 19th century. Many drew from the edition of the Gengzhi tu, 'Illustrations of Ploughing and Weaving' produced in woodblock print form by Jiao Bingzhen (1680-1720) following a commission by the Kangxi Emperor.

These three would have likely been part of a large set and larger collections can sell for 10s of thousands of pounds, one set sold for £180,000 with each painting equating to £7,500 each.

It is aUnusual opportunity to be able to buy one for £3,500 or the three for £7,500 - meaning they are more accessible to more people than full collections. You need to see the detail in them to understand the level of work that goes into them.