Curiosity/Macabre : Chinese Torture and Public Execution Pho...

Hammer

£25

Curiosity/Macabre : Chinese Torture and Public Execution Photograph Postcards, pair showing Lingchi “death by a thousand cuts”
A rare pair of particularly graphic antique photograph postcards of Chinese torture. The first image showing a woman bound in a public space, the second showing the body with the breasts cut off (2).
Lingchi "slow slicing" or "death by a thousand cuts" was a form of torture and execution used in China, Vietnam and Korea. A knife was used to methodically remove portions of the body over an extended period of time, eventually resulting in death. Lingchi was reserved for crimes viewed as especially heinous, such as treason.