One page from a woodblock printed book mounted as an album leaf. Spray of two orchid blossoms and two leaves set at lower center right.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from June and Simon K.C Li, Fong Liu, Mei-Lee Ney, and Anne and Jim Rothenberg, in honor of Steven S. Koblik
The Ten Bamboo Studio was named for the bamboo that grew around the Nanjing residence of publisher Hu Zhengyan. Unlike other practical guides on how to paint, the Ten Bamboo Studio Manual, successfully printed in color, was more of a visual guide to appreciating calligraphy and painting. The section shown here is from the “Orchid” volume. It includes single-line notes on the painting of leaves and blossoms, paired with model examples by famous painters. Handwritten numbers on the pages were added later to keep them in order when the volumes were remounted.