Chinese Ancestral Warrior Portrait Painting Oil Canvas Part of Suite, circa 1880

Reflecting the role that ancestor worship played in Chinese culture, this Qing-dynasty painting depicts several generations of family, dressed in intricately-detailed and brilliantly...

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 late-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. Two young children stand beside them, each trying to capture the attention of their grandparent. We love the painting's close attention to detail and the glimpse it offers of Qing-dynasty interiors - from the carved apron of the marble-top table to the red silk lotus slippers...

Magnificent Chinese scroll ancestor painting showing patriarch and matriarch of a high ranking status civil official. This unusual scroll depicts the dignitary couple seated below a ...

Each nicely painted in reverse. One depicting a boy playing a flute to a terrapin in a sea and the other a man in a sea rising over a man floating in a shell. Carved wood frames.

Deeply rooted in the belief that ancestors continue to guide and protect their descendants, many Chinese families pay homage to their departed loved ones through private rituals, see...

Chinese Export Botanical Paintings on Pith Paper Guangdong Province, A Set of Twelve, Circa 1850 This complete and beautifully preserved set of twelve botanical still lifes is a su...

A very unusual and intriguing rare set of six 19th century Chinese gouaches depicting scenes of corporal punishment, and in one, execution. Painted...

This pair of reverse glass paintings are truly one-of-a-Kind pieces. The scene has been beautifully rendered, with great attention paid to detail. These piece were created in China d...

This intricately detailed composition is a late-Qing dynasty ancestor portrait depicting several generations of a family's male ancestry. Or...

China trade watercolor pictures of junks & sampans, Set of Five, Circa 1850 The Chinese watercolor paintings on pith paper each depict a diffe...