Tea, pith, and monkey business

  Williams explores the history of the incorporation of tea, pith, and the monkey in Chinese art. Chinese watercolors on pith cannot be replicated convincingly on any medium except pith because of its cellular structure wherein the gouache used by the Chinese painters stayed on the surface of the pi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Magazine antiques (1971) 2008-01, Vol.173 (1), p.184
Main Author: Williams, Ifan
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Art history
Culture
Monkeys & apes
Tea
Visual artists
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:  Williams explores the history of the incorporation of tea, pith, and the monkey in Chinese art. Chinese watercolors on pith cannot be replicated convincingly on any medium except pith because of its cellular structure wherein the gouache used by the Chinese painters stayed on the surface of the pith and reflected the light with a bright immediacy, which is quite different from traditional Western watercolors. One example of this is artform is the famous pith paintings of monkeys gathering tea leaves, which appealed to Western tastes. But whatever the scientitic accuracy of the depictions, for the ordinary visitor to Canton looking for something rather exotic, the idea of monkeys picking tea must have captured the imagination, which probably explains why it was the subject of so many paintings and prints.
ISSN:0161-9284