The publication of Paul Moss’s six year project This Single Feather of Auspicious Light is by far the largest, densest art dealer’s catalogue ever, weighing in at 28 kgs (62 lbs), including protective packaging. The reason for its extraordinary, ambitious scale is that every small and medium-sized work of old Chinese painting and calligraphy is illustrated lifesize and, in the case of at least more important handscrolls, in the format in which they were created. For large hanging scrolls we have been obliged to fall back on the time-honoured approach of blown-up detail photographs; but almost without exception handscrolls, albums and fans are reproduced to actual scale and are virtually perfect for colour and tone. That is why it has taken so long and ends up so big.

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