THREE CHINESE EXPORT 'TEA PRODUCTION' PAINTINGS Qing Dynasty, circa 1800 Gouache on paper, illustrating pounding and drying the tea - some of the stages in the cultivation and preparation of tea for export, each framed and glazed and with exhibition labels to verso, 39cm high, 58cm long (3) 清約1800年 採茶圖 粉彩紙本 鏡框 - Exhibited: Martyn Gregory, China and the Far East Exhibition: The China Trade, 1996 Catalogue 69, no 96 展覽： Martyn Gregory著，《China and the Far East Exhibition: The China Trade》，1996年圖錄69，編號96 - Note: The production of tea was a subject that greatly fascinated many Westerners, and paintings of the various stages of production, as seen in the present lot, were greatly desirable. Foreign acess to China during the Qing Dynasty was limited to the port of Canton (present-day Guangzhou) as dictated by the 'Canton system', a protectionist policy that arose in 1757 as a response to a perceived political andmercial threat from abroad. Painted depictions of the various stages of tea, silk and porcelain production were therefore created for export to Europe. These paintings have a striking visual quality - vividly-painted yet traditional and informative. Utilising a subtle one-point perspective, the paintings have a feeling of analytical flatness, faithfully portraying the different industries without losing a sense of elegance and beauty.