Chinese Fireworks decorative box top. by [CHINA - FOLK ART] - circa1900.

[China].. circa1900.. Hand painted cut paper and gilt foil label on thick cardboard as issued, 43.5 x 49.3 some loss to the foil, but in very good condition. A wonderfully decorative example of Chinese folk art, this is a hand cut and painted decorative paper and foil box top (including the flap), produced in China around 1900. Intricately designed and executed, colorful paper was cut, painted and glued over decorative foil to produce an extraordinarily rich design. The artist employed bright and auspicious colours (red and rose, purple and lilac) and symbols including fruit, flowers and birds to convey a feeling of festivity, good fortune and success.

Here a Chinese scribe or notary addresses a blank page, seated at a long table with two noblemen, in the background are two galleries of costumed women with fans and through a window a leafy arbour or garden, the whole surrounded by a border of birds and fruit. .