A SET OF THREE CHINESE WALLPAPER PANELS. Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. Each painted with a sweeping garden vista populated with officials and ladies engaged in various activities including shooting arrows, playing on swings, and conversing, ink and colour on paper, two panels 294 x 137cm, the other 291 x 116cm. (3) 清十八世紀 人物園景圖紋繪畫壁紙三幅 Wallpaper was considered the height of desirability and rarity during the 18th Century and was extremely expensive. The French dealer Lazare Duvaux (c. 1703-1758) records the sale of six sheets of ‘China paper’ to the Countess of Valentinois in 1756 for 144 livres (Carl L. Crossman, The China Trade, Woodbridge, 1991, p. 390); while the Regent prince and future King of England is said to have paid up to 17 Pounds per bolt of Chinese wallpaper.