The Chinese Erotic pillow books, also called "Spring palace Paintings" is a tradition that spanned from Chinese antiquity until the late Qing dynasty in the early XXth Century. These erotic illustrations were layered with humorous narratives and adorned with elaborate sexual positions in idyllic palace settings. These miniature booklets were often given to newlyweds as "how to" manuals, destined to teach a young bride abıout the art of lovemaking and bring fertility and luck for their marriage.
This minuature sex manual is estimated to date back to the early XXth century and was aquired into the Pâme collection in 2020 from an antique bookstore in Paris. It is an unforlding leporello book with 10 pages of illustrations printed in the ancient woodblock technique. The book depicts a variety of indoor lovemaking scenes adorned with a colourful decor and humorous sexual scenarios.
After 1911, Chinese erotic art was gradually supressed by modern Confucianists and the communist state, leading to the destruction of most pieces and hence making these st of illustrations a very rare example.