A rare Schwenkfelder drawing: A Gentleman in Chinese attire, circa 1830 Attributed to the Exotic Scenery Artist, Montgomery County, PA, circa 1830

Watercolor, gouache, ink, gold and silver paint on paper, original frame.

7 1/4 in. x 5 1/4 in. (sight)

Note

The depiction of a human figure is rare in work attributed to the circle of two or three unidentified artists presently referred to as The Exotic Scenery Artist. However, two works with human figures shown in profile broadly attributed to the artist are known: the first, A Portrait of a Turk, is in the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, and the second, Pennsylvania Chinoiserie (1932.301.6) is in the collection of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum at Colonial Williamsburg. The latter, depicting two full-length figures in Chinese dress, bears a number of content and stylistic similarites with the present lot. The garments worn by the second figure in Pennsylvania Chinoiserie are nearly identical in style, palette and pigment saturation to the robes worn by the figure of this present lot. The basket carried in the two works is also similar, as well as the treatment of the trees and bushes, and use silver and gold paint. The frontal depiction of the figure in the present work may be unique.

Provenance

Property of a Maryland gentleman.