Jun 20, 2019 - Sale 2514
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Sale 2514 - Lot 4

Unsold
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
Chinese Gay Pillow Book.]

6 double-page watercolor and ink illustrations of erotic gay couplings. Images measure 8 1/2x6 1/2 inches, 21 1/2x16 cm on India paper, mounted to 10x8 1/2 inch laid paper sheets, accordion-folded between patterned silk-covered boards (measuring 73 inches, 185 1/2 cm unfolded). Plates generally clean and colors bright, but for some faint, scattered dampstaining; silk binding threads along upper and lower edges heavily frayed. Late 19th-early 20th century.
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Additional Details


a scarce and unusual example of a gay pillow book. A visual guide to the art of heterosexual lovemaking, pillow books were traditionally given by a Chinese mother to her daughter on her wedding day. As most were destroyed during the early days of Communist China, this uncommon work showing intimate positions of a young gay couple in various outdoor settings is unusually scarce.