Featured in this lot are four, Chinese carved cork (Ruanmu Hua) art pieces from the 20th century. Chinese cork art, also known as ruanmu hua, is a relatively modern art form that originated in Fuzhou, Fujian province, in the early 20th century. It is characterized by intricate miniature landscapes and scenes carved from cork and assembled into three-dimensional dioramas. The art form was inspired by a European Christmas card brought to China, which led local woodcarvers to experiment with cork as a medium for their traditional carving skills. The first and smallest shows a lake scene with a boat in the water and a house on the land near the lake. Birds fly in the distance and trees surround the area. The second and third pieces show very similar scenes of boats in the water, a large house on the shoreline, a plane and birds in the sky, blue mountains in the background and trees surrounding the area. The fourth and largest piece shows three boats on the water, two houses on the shoreline, various trees surrounding them and birds and clouds scattered in the sky. They are all set in the same wood frame with blue felt matting. The visible art measures from 5 1/4" L x 7 1/4" W to 5" L x 17" W, while the entire pieces measure from 8 5/8" L x 10 3/4" W x 1 1/4" D to 8 3/4" L x 20 5/8" W x 1 1/4" D. They have a collective weight of 8 pounds and 2 ounces.