Set of twelve small paintings on marrow paper, China, Canton, late 19th centuryGouache on paper representing various Chinese characters: seated dignitaries, archer, mandarins, women richly dressed or holding objects of everyday life. The wooden frames painted in black and gold decoration. Dim. at sight of each painting : 21,8 x 14 cm ; dim. frame : 104,5 x 59 cmAccidents . Framed under glass. This soft-textured white paper, falsely called "rice paper", is in fact made from a small shrub, Tetrapanax Papyrifera, found mainly in southern China.