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South East Asian Art and Antiques, & Antiquarian, Rare and Collectable books
South East Asian Art and Antiques, & Antiquarian, Rare and Collectable books

Landscapes, Orchid, Bamboo and Flower Paintings by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek

£900.00
SKU LAN1686

Landscapes, Orchid, Bamboo and Flower Paintings by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek (First Lady of China - Soong May-ling) 蔣宋美龄.

蔣夫人山水蘭竹花卉册 /

Very scarce first edition.

Beautifully produced book bound in traditional Japanese style. Thread sewn binding. Silk covers. The book is contained with a matching silk bound outer folder with 3 sections and bone clasps.

The book is in fine condition - looks unread. Contains 24 prints of her paintings produced between 1971 and 1974, most of which have never been published before. Forward page written by Wang Yun-mu, the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the National Palace Museum. Published in Taiwan, 1979. 國立故宮博物院, Zhonghua Minguo Taibei : Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan, Minguo 68 (1979).

Very large folio size book - 580mm high x 420mm wide. 

The book and its outer cover are contained in a very large outer folio cardboard cover with a coiled string closure. This is intact but has substantial marking due to water damage (contents inside not affected at all). This is of minor significance as these cardboard outer wraps would often have been discarded in any case. The outer folder measures 580mm high x 420mm wide.

Soong May-ling, (or May-ling Soong Chiang) also known as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek was a remarkable and important figure in the history of the Republic of China. She was the First Lady of the Republic of China between 1948 and 1975, married to Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-Shek. She lived from 1898 to 2003. With her first class education in the USA, and with her resultant excellent English she played an important role in political discussions. She was a politician and involved in charitable causes, as well as an accomplished painter in the traditional Chinese style, and after the death of her husband in 1975, moved from Taiwan back to the USA. Around 1988 to 1990 she did return to Taiwan and tried and become involved in politics again, but this time was unsuccessful, and returned to the USA. She was a beautiful and formidable lady, and has even been nicknamed The Last Empress.