William Cowie - Vignettes of Women, twenty-six pen with ink illustrations, inscribed and dated 1881, overall 29cm x 43.5cm, within a gilt composition frame. Note: William Cowie was a mariner born circa 1833 in Aberdeen who frequently sailed to China where, by family repute, he acquired status akin to a Mandarin. These drawings were executed aboard a ship, denoted by the inscriptions 'out 55 days from Cardiff', and 'out 9 days from Saint Helena'. Provenance: the artist's great grandson.