Hu Zhengyan (Chinese, 1584-1674), The Ten Bamboo Studio Collection of Calligraphy and Pictures, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), 18th/19th century, woodblock prints, nearly complete in 16 folios, pages bound in "butterfly binding" style, presented in a deep blue silk-covered portfolio, each folio 9-1/2" x 5-3/4". Provenance: Purchased in China in the 1920s by Lene Schneider-Kainer (1885-1971), Vienna, Austria and New York, New York; by descent to present consignor. In 1926, the artist Lene Schneider-Kainer embarked on a two-year journey to India, Russia and Asia. Accompanied by the poet Bernhard Kellerman (1879-1951), the trip was sponsored by the German journal Berliner Tageblatt (published from 1872-1939) and was to follow the presumed route taken by explorer Marco Polo to China. Kellerman supplied the documentary text while Schneider-Kainer produced sketches, paintings and photographs of the journey. While many of the photographs have been lost, almost 100 watercolors are conserved in the Leo Baeck Institute Art Collection in New York and Berlin. It was an unusual, dangerous, and somewhat daring trip for a woman to make and Schneider-Kainer kept a journal of her experiences and reactions; a portion of the diary has been translated into English by Ruth Heimann and Irene Miller and is available online. Schneider-Kainer's collection of Asian art, acquired during this journey, was exhibited in 1949 at The Brooklyn Museum and The Asian Institute, New York, New York. In 1933, after Hitler's rise to power, Schneider-Kainer emigrated to Ibiza, Spain where she remained until her home was bombed during the Spanish Civil War. In 1938 she moved to New York, where she produced children's books under the name Eleska.

Condition as noted: Not complete. Missing several images and calligraphy pages. Several folios no longer intact with loose pages. Scattered creasing, discoloration, and small missing areas all consistent with age and material.