Chinese Painting by William Cohn.

Phaidon Press: London, 1948. distributed in the US by Oxford University Press. Dust jacket present in protective cover; edges worn with loss to lower front corner, but design remains clear and attractive. Text block fully intact and secure. Interior pages and all 224 plates clean and bright. Previous owner inscription on title page dated 1997.

This is a substantial scholarly survey of Chinese painting from the earliest dynasties through the Ch’ing period. It contains 224 black and white plates drawn from major collections worldwide including the British Museum, the Freer Gallery, the Louvre, and Chinese Government collections. Also has detailed chapters on technique, calligraphy, painting and its meaning in Chinese culture, and a full historical survey by dynasty from the Han through the Ch’ing. Complete with bibliography, index, table of dynasties, and full list of plates with index of collections. This would be a great reference book for students and collectors of Asian art history and Chinese painting.