A Chinese watercolour and gouache painting on paper laid onto fabric, late Qianlong period, finely painted with a scene of an informal family gathering in the grounds of a lakeside palace, with pine trees and islets beyond, 96cm x 127cm, framed. Provenance: Sir Evelyn de la Rue (1879-1950) and his daughter Miss Diana de la Rue (1914-1998) of Lockleys, Hertfordshire, and Normans, Rusper. Their ancestors founded the printing firm which secured the Royal Warrant to produce playing cards, postage stamps and banknotes throughout the British Empire. This painting is illustrated on page 53 of Country Life, Vol XLVIII No. 1227, Saturday July 10th 1920, shown hanging above the fireplace at Lockleys in 'The Chinese Room from the South-East'; a copy of the Country Life magazine is included in the lot. The painting was sold by Toovey's on 16th April 1998, Lot 360, as part of the collection belonging to the late Miss Diana de la Rue, and illustrated in the sale catalogue.