Volume with 24 Original Watercolors on Punishment or Torture Methods

This remarkable volume with 24 one-of-a-kind watercolors is from a collection entitled Dessins Originaux Chinois.. The watercolor was done in the 1800s in Canton and is mounted to a larger sheet. This volume is dedicated to punishment or torture methods. It is bound in three-quarter marbled boards, green Morocco, with 7 gilt compartments, 6 raised band, gold gilt.

The watercolors were clearly completed by very skilled hands. The collection included illustrations of flowers, natural history, customs, punishments, and naval scenes. There appears to have been some Indian influence in the style of illustration as well as subjects including a depiction of the mango, native to India.

The work had two bookplates: one from Henry Rogers Broughton and the second from Winifred Bois. Broughton (1900-1973) amassed one of the most important collections of botanical art in the world. Winifred Bois (1875-1966) collected Chinese school watercolors and travelled extensively in the Far East. Her family held a prominent place among the merchants of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from the 1860s.