Chinese Reverse Glass Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi

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...

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 and Cao Guojiu. Said to have attained immortality through their studies of the natural world, the Eight Immortals each represent a different condition in life and impart blessings of prosperity and longevity. The charming scene is likely one of a set of...

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...

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...

Antique Verre Eglomise Chinese Export reverse glass painting. Beautiful Chinese reverse glass painting of two women in a Chinese garden with a scroll. This painting is particularly vibrant and exquisite in color and detail. The wood frame painting...

This Chinese portrait depicts a young woman and was painted using a reverse glass painting technique. Painting in reverse on the opposite side of a piece of glass meant the painter h...

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

A very large vintage Chinese export reverse glass painted figural hanging wall panel in a carved hardwood frame, early to mid-20th century...