Monumental Hand Painted Chinese Scroll With Ancestors In Custom Frame

A six panel screen in black paint with overall gilt scrolled and carved and painted wood applied low relief decoration with some Mother-of-Pearl details. Scenes with pavilions and fi...

Provenance: Christie’s. The panels with carved figural vignettes- floral vines at the top, the bottom with small ones with figures at various tasks in landscapes with houses, the lar...

Watercolor painting on fabric surmounted on wood that shows Buddha and two of his famous disciples Sariputta and Mogallana. The disciples enjoy princely three tier umbrellas. The Bud...

A large and intricate Asian carved and gilt panel that may be utilized as an architectural element, wall decoration or screen. In one piece with six panels with four recessed section...

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

Scroll Painting of Chinese Qing Dynasty Family Generations of Imperial Officers This family with few generations withheld positions in imperial officers Purchased from Christie's in ...

Qing Dynasty Chinese Ancestral Imperial Officer's Portrait, 19th Century, The imperial officer seated in dignify posture on horseshoe back chair wearing a official hat and with rank ...

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...