The piece is approximately 15 ¾" x 5 ¼", though the top and bottom were folded under and hidden when the picture was framed. The paper the art is on is very thin, and has been mounted on another piece of tissue type paper. The connection of the main part and the bottom of the picture (which is a tree trunk) is worn and a bit damaged. There is old writing at the top which was partly cut off when the picture was folded to fit into a frame. The images are installed in this order: Main picture; hidden top; hidden bottom.
Never shown that I'm aware of. Don't know previous owners before my parents acquired it. I believe they may have found it in an old bookstore somewhere in an east coast state like New York or Massachusetts.
Thank you for submitting your item for appraisal. This appears to be a chinese watercolour of the early 20th century. The inscription is a bit of a mystery. The title might read 溪 礄 三 進, "creek qiao three enter" possibly refering to a Creek with the name Qiao. Unfortunately the first character does not exist in any dictionary. The inscription on the left is only legible in parts to me, not enough to make sense.The only legible character within the artist seal might read 夫, which unfortunately leads to hundreds of artist using this character but none is a perfect match. It might have been an unknown japanese / taiwanese artist. The estimate is based on similar watercolours by lesser known aristst offered or sold at auction.
I also sent copies of the photographs requested directly to the e-mail address of Mearto.com. I don't know if the above will transmit.
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