Chinese paper cuts date back to 105AD Han Dynasty when paper was first invented. "Jianzhi" as it is called is one of the most papular folk arts in China. This paper cut, created in 1887 combines the techinique of the Chinese process and use of festive red paper with distinctly American patterns. Three cutwork vases of flowers on stands made from red and blue-gray papers that are pasted onto a vertical rectangular, off-white sheet; handwritten inscription containing name of maker, owner and date is inset at left. A large vase at center has a trumpet neck on high shoulders and contains four different blooms visited by two butterflies or moths and two small birds. Two smaller flanking vases have wide mouths and curved sprigs of pointed leaves. Narrow, black-painted, Eastlake-style, flat frame with recessed floral decoration in corners picked out in gilt. Strips of board are nailed tothe reverse.of an original fram with a replaced backing.
The piece was made for Adele M. Fielde (1839-1916), an American Baptist missionary who spent almost 20 years (1872-1890) in Swatow (Shantou) or Canton, Kwangtung (Guangdong) Province, training Chinese women as evangelists and Bible teachers. For more on Fielde, see Ruth A. Tucker, “Fielde, Adele M.,” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 210-11.