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Framed Chinese ancestral portrait, Qing dynasty, leaning against a white wall
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  • Framed Chinese ancestral portrait, Qing dynasty, leaning against a white wall
  • Chinese ancestral portrait in watercolour and gouache, Qing dynasty, in a black frame
  • Lower half of the ancestral portrait showing the seated figures in red and blue robes
  • Six seated ancestors in court robes and hats, Qing dynasty portrait
  • Detail of the ancestral figures in red and blue robes
  • Detail of three ancestors in red, blue and black robes
  • Two male ancestors in black robes with teal collars and red topped hats
  • Two female ancestors in red robes and jewelled headdresses
  • Female ancestor in a blue robe with an embroidered rank badge and headdress
Chinese Ancestral Portrait in Watercolour and Gouache, Qing Dynasty, 19th Century

Chinese Ancestral Portrait in Watercolour and Gouache, Qing Dynasty, 19th Century

$1,295.00 AUD
Description

Painted in watercolour and gouache on paper, this 19th century Qing dynasty ancestral portrait shows three generations of a family from the late Qing court in the formal, richly coloured robes that denoted official rank.

Ancestral portraits like this were commissioned within Chinese families to honour specific relatives, and they were typically displayed or stored for ceremonial veneration rather than hung as decorative art in the Western sense. The figures sit in a rigid, frontal pose, and the painter has given each one a robe in a strong, flat colour, in red, blue and dark navy, with careful attention to the badges, collars and headwear that show rank.

The colours are still strong against the pale paper. Hung on a plain wall, the portrait becomes the focus of a room, and its tall, narrow proportion suits a hallway, a stairwell or the wall beside a sideboard.

Excellent antique condition, with the age related character you would expect of a 19th century work on paper. It is professionally housed in a custom black frame with UV resistant acrylic glazing.

Dimensions: 217 cm x 115 cm, framed. Hang it from secure fixings suited to its weight, away from direct sun.

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