Qing Paintings

With exquisite detail and sparkling color, this portrait of a young woman is a remarkable example of reverse glass painting. Lending the finished work a subtle three-dimensional effe...

With careful brushwork, this 19th-century painting honors the four treasures of the scholar's studio - paper, calligraphy brush, ink, and inkstone. Essential to his way of life, the ...

The owners of this work of art were likely the only two people in the world lucky enough to have access to its beauty. The experience of art itself can be an intimate one, and this bed canopy, hand-painted 100 years ago by an artist in Canton, was more intimate than most. It brings to life symbols of prosperity and good fortune for a married couple...

With exquisite detail and sparkling color, this portrait of a young woman is a remarkable example of reverse glass painting. Lending the finished work a subtle three-dimensional effe...

The experience of art itself can be an intimate one, and this bed canopy, hand-painted over 100 years ago by an artist in Canton, was more intimate than most. Delicately painted pheasants...

Glass takes the place of canvas in this Qing Dynasty reverse glass painting dating to the 19th century. Chinese painters and calligraphers bega...

A pillow book was meant to teach a young bride about the art of lovemaking. This rare museum-quality 19th century example is composed of 12 masterfully pai...

Exquisite Chinese painting on rice paper, similar to gouache, dating from the late Qing Dynasty (19th century) to the early 20th century. Its iconography, technique, and composition ...

Exceptional pair of 19th century Chinese gouache paintings on pith paper depicting birds and flowers executed in the traditional gongbi technique. Presented under glass with french m...

Popularized during the Qing dynasty, reverse glass painting requires an artist to essentially work backwards, starting with details and shading before adding color and form. Lending the finished work a subtle three-dimensional effect, this exacting technique doesn't allow for any corrections, and is only revealed to its full effect when the glass pane is turned around. This example dates to the late 19th century and depicts the Taoist immortals He Xiangu...

Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. This 19th-century painting is delicately brushed of gouache and ink on fabric and was originally part of a set of eight backing a wooden screen in northern China. The figure depicted is one of the mythical Eight Immortals of Taoism. Said to have attained immortality through their studies of the natural world, each of the Eight Immortals represents a different condition in life and together they impart a blessing of prosperity and longevity. Depicted here is immortal Lan Caihe, the patron saint of florists and gardeners. Standing atop a lotus leaf in open water, they hold a gardening hoe in one hand and a basket for flowers...

Since the 12th century people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes—the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. ...

A scroll and a small lantern depicted in this 19th-century painting suggest the romantic notion of a Chinese scholar painting in the evening hours. Re...

This monumental lacquered elmwood sign of honor was carved in northern China during the mid-19th century. The large central characters read as "Wu Zheng Ever Green", and - loosely tr...

Thoughts of a long, happy life greeted the young couple who gazed up from their bed on this canopy panel. Adorned with chrysanthemums and peaches, both symbols of longevity, the lyri...

A pair of Chinese reverse glass painting representing women and a child in a garden pavillion. Original "Chinese Chippendale" framing. China for expor...

A pair of Chinese reverse glass painting representing women and a child in a garden pavillion. Original "Chinese Chippendale" framing. China for export, circa 1830.

Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits for long life, health, and prosperity. Commemorative portraits, which came into vogue in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, were commissioned specifically for ancestor worship and were believed to house the spirits of the deceased. When properly cared for, one's ancestors were believed to be a powerful source of honor, protection, and good luck. This pair of ancestor portraits was hand-painted in the 19th century and beautifully depicts a Qing-dynasty couple. While some ancestral portraits offer a more stylized representation of one's ancestors, this particular pair is painted with incredible realism and life-like expressions. Rather than depict the pair in a regal hall wearing elaborate finery, the couple is shown in a quiet home environment, seated at either end of a square tea table. Their surroundings are minimal, practically undecorated, and they wear simple, matching blue silk robes...

Drawn with a fine line and fresh, sketched quality, this folk hanging unites two scenes of lucky hoho lotus boys circumscribed in frames punctuated with fruits such as pomegranate, symbolic of prosperity and good fortune. On top, the two explore the natural wonders of the world...

A pair of Chinese reverse glass painting representing women and a child in a garden pavillion. Original "Chinese Chippendale" framing. China for expor...