Dreams of Spring, Erotic Art in China

YIMEN & FERRY BERTHOLET
THE PEPIN PRESS, Amsterdam, 1997
ISBN: 90-5496-039-6

English, French, and German editions.

Erotic art – in letters and in pictures – is an eminent part of the cultural heritage of ancient China, and was already flourishing in pre-Imperial times. With its peak during the late-Ming period, this art remained a fixed feature in Chinese literature and visual arts until well into the 20^th century.

At its best, Chinese erotic art is a search for beauty in all its manifestations, for not only does it offer stimulation, it provides a source of great aesthetic pleasure.

It never presents sex in a crude or pornographic way, but within a framework of beauty and harmony, enhanced with details of a profound or symbolic nature.

Dreams of Spring presents for the first time the treasures of the Bertholet Collection, one of the world’s most important surviving collections of Chinese erotic art. Many of the pictures reproduced are unique in their style and content, and have never been published before.

The text and descriptions in this book are the result of many years of scholarly research by one of the principal authorities in this field: Rev. Yimen, who studied Chinese history devoting herself to this neglected field of China’s spiritual traditions.

Opium, Art and History of a Lost Ritual

FERRY BERTHOLET
MERCATORFONDS, Brussels, 2007
ISBN: 978-90-6153-738-0
CITADELLES ET MAZENOD, Paris 2007
ISBN: 978-2850882425

Dutch, and French editions.
English edition in preparation.

Up to the present day opium has a magical attraction – the word ‘opium’ conjures up a mysterious world of adventure and gloomy romanticism.

Opium was long regarded as a gift from heaven. Descriptions can be found in classical academia of the miraculous effect of the sap that was extracted from the head of the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum).

It was recognized worldwide for its efficacy against various illnesses and in the easing of physical pain, and as such offered the possibility of escape from what might be an otherwise brutish reality. A number of writers, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rudyard Kipling and Oscar Wilde, as well as expressive artists claimed to have drawn inspiration from visions they experienced whilst using opium. Nevertheless the darker side of this ‘luxury’ irrevocably condemns those who give themselves dissolutely to it: habit leads to dependency and once hooked, addicts find that there is no road back. It is this, above all, that has created the negative reputation surrounding opium. As a commercial commodity opium once had an enormous economic significance. It served the British as a lever in forcing the opening of the tightly closed gateway to the ‘Celestial Empire’ (China).

This sinister commercial policy almost led to the ruin of China, and since that time the Chinese have viewed opium as a symbol of foreign exploitation and humiliation. At the beginning of the twentieth century the use of and trade in opium was banned, with the result that pipes and their related accessories were destroyed on a massive scale.

One aspect that is still very much neglected in the numerous publications on opium is the material culture relating to the ritual of opium smoking. Within this cultural sphere, Chinese applied arts were given full and rich expression, most particularly in those objects that were created for wealthy upper-class merchants, scholars and nobility. The fascination with the unrivalled beauty of such applied arts has been the driving force behind us in bringing together, with great flair and passion, a number of striking and rare opium pipes and their paraphernalia.

We hope with this publication – in which a selection of art works from our collection is shown for the first time – to prevent a relatively unknown culture from sinking into oblivion.

Among the Celestials, China in Early Photographs

FERRY BERTHOLET & LAMBERT VAN DER AALSVOORT
MERCATORFONDS, Brussels, 2014
ISBN: 978-94-6230-022-4
ÉDITIONS DE LA MARTINIÈRE, PARIS, 2014
ISBN: 978-2-7324-6506-7
FRÖHLICH & KAUFMANN VERLAG, Berlin, 2014
ISBN: 978-3-945330-04-3

English, French, and German editions.

Among the Celestials brings to life an intriguing period in Chinese history, through over 150 images of sublime beauty, many of which are reproduced here for the first time. The photographs evoke daily life in the Celestial Empire during the 19^th century , when the Dragon Throne struggled to hold its ground. Its countless subjects, while clinging to ancient traditions, considered Westerners as barbarians, disturbing their Eternal Piece. The often daring efforts of Western and, later, also Chinese photographers offer us rare glimpses into a way of life that has long since disappeared.

Stunning portraits of both rich and poor, tantalising scenes of daily life and serene landscapes are presented here within a unique, comprehensive perspective, allowing each of the images to speak for itself. They reveal a stagnant, slumbering society that is slowly waking up to the needs of change and development. In the second part of this impressive volume a selection of striking photographs evokes the Republican period, when Chinese society begins to face these challenges.

After completing his studies at the Dutch National Academy of arts, Ferdinand M. Bertholet (Amsterdam, 1952) made several long journeys through Asia. It was on one of these travels that he first encountered an album of Chinese erotic paintings, in an antique shop in Hong Kong. He was immediately struck by the subtle expression of romance and the harmonious composition and colouring of the works.

As he studied the subject further, and learned to recognize pieces of high quality, he found that good items had become very rare. Nevertheless, he began an impassioned search for top quality Chinese erotic paintings, ivory carvings and porcelain, which lasted for more than 35 years, and resulted in what is now generally regarded as the largest and most important collection of its kind.

Over the years several major museums have organized exhibitions in which parts of the Bertholet collection were presented.