Erotic art - in letters and pictures - is an eminent part of the cultural heritage of ancient China, where lovemaking was considered as a natural practice, a sacred duty for both men and women.

Albums with explicit drawings were often made for newly married couples as an instruction handbook. Here, however, the two scenes are rather unconventional, illustrating polygamy practices that dominated aristocratic circles in the ancient Chinese society. The first watercolour shows, not without a hint of humour, two women engaged in a lovemaking game with a man. The second watercolour suggests the importance of self-pleasure for lonely females forced to live in a harem setting.

Pieces like these provide a better understanding of Chinese culture that was largely suppressed in the wake of the Cultural Revolution in the mid-XX century.


Two loose folded watercolours on paper (56 x 34 cm.). Some spotting and foxing, some repaired tears.