Qi Baishi hua ji (Pei-ch'ing Yung-pao-ch 'ai shih-chien-p'u). Paper collection of 120 watercolour prints. Two volumes. 3, 2 Bl. with cut text and approx. 120 Bl. in woodcut. 31 x 21 cm. Night blue envelopes with gold leaf speckling in gold-coloured silk cord block binding with mounted title plates in triple brocade silk lids (minimum shaded and flaked) with mounted cover plate and 2 bean closures. Beijing, (Rong bao ziai xin ji, 1951). The two volumes of the so-called "big edition" (with 60 color woodcuts each in watercolour printing technique; the "small" has only 40 each) contain besides a large number of letter papers of Qi Baishi also such of other artists. For this, see picture booklets of the State Museums, East Asian woodcuts II, in which some of the works p. 46ff. are depicted and described. Qi Baishi (1864-1957), a significant, if not the most important Chinese painter of modernism, took over elements of traditional scholarly painting, but developed the technique considerably further. Its Xieyi-style paintings are characterized by simple structures and fast, skilful brushstrokes. Qi's preferred subjects include representations of small animals such as crabs, crabs and tadpoles, mice, birds and insects, as well as plants such as peonies, lotus, pumpkins and bananas. Human figures, however, often seem somewhat clumsy and naive in his paintings. Some pictures also carry humorous features. – Only occasionally an insignificant minimal impact or damp flap of bright colors, overall in good preservation. The cover covers of the portfolio made of precious silk brocade with colorful herons.