'1920's Chinese Port With Biplane Overhead', Early 20th Century Chinese School, Philately, Postage Stamp Collage

Details

Description

A substantial and finely detailed Chinese stamp-collage of a panoramic port scene, dating to circa 1925 and built entirely from … Read more A substantial and finely detailed Chinese stamp-collage of a panoramic port scene, dating to circa 1925 and built entirely from meticulously cut and layered postage stamps heightened with watercolor. An unusually large and well-preserved example of this rare Chinese art form.

Provenance:
Boston, MA (private collection)
San Francisco, CA (private collection)

This anonymous artist has assembled cancelled, Republic-era, late-Qing and early Republic of China stamps into mountains, crenellated city walls, and tiered pavilions, while tiny stamp fragments articulate sails, rigging, and architectural details. In the estuary, Chinese junks and sampans mingle with Western steamers and screw-driven vessels. These motifs were cherished by foreign visitors to the South China coast after the treaty-port era transformed Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and neighboring entrepôts. The tall, multi-story pagoda and the fantasy promontories frame a busy waterway, where ferry boats, a lone oarsman and promenading figures animate the foreground.

These stamp collages—sometimes called “macerated stamp pictures”—were popular artworks sold in curio shops and stationers, the philatelic material itself signaling modern commerce and global circulation. This hybrid technique marries Chinese scenic conventions (stacked perspective, decorative rock forms, temple architecture) with the modern imagery of steam power and international shipping, yielding a lively, cosmopolitan view of the treaty-port world rendered from the very tokens of imperial posts and the early Republic.

For color-fidelity, please refer to the main image, which has been color corrected. The individual details have not been color corrected and are included to illustrate the fineness of detail.

Among the many stamps used are:
Hong Kong 2 Cent, Republic of China 1/2 Cent , Rep. of China 1 Cent, Rep. of China 2 Cent, Rep. of China 3 Cent, Malaya Federated States 1 Cent (issued in 1901), Postage Revenue 1 Penny Stamp and United States 2 Cent and 10 Cent (issued in 1899). See less