Pair of 19th Century Chinese Ancestral Portraits

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...

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...

In Buddhist Tibet, patrons and monks commissioned thangka art, or sacred painting, to focus their meditations and prayers. Painted with blue, orange, and red pigments, this 19th century thangka...

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

male portrait; painting on rice paper; painting can be rolled up

group portrait; painting is on rice paper; 41in(W) x 59in(H) are the overall measurements of the painting including its borders; painting can be rolled up

Two Chinese paintings of figures in court dress 19th century, opaque pigments on paper, each depicting a figure wearing robes decorated with dragon motifs on yellow-grounds. Pr...

An impressively sized 19th century Chinese Qing dynasty ancestral portrait painting of a senior official of the first rank in bamboo frame with silk ...