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Qing Paintings and Screens

QING STYLE

The last imperial dynasty from 1644 to 1912 was a time of change in China, beginning with the invasion by Manchurian forces that ended the Ming dynasty and established the Shunzhi Emperor. The expansion of exportation and trade that had bolstered the arts during the Ming era continued, as Qing dynasty furniture involved the same attention to craftsmanship with expert construction techniques in hardwood pieces that were assembled with mortise and tenon joints rather than nails or glue. Together, these eras comprise a golden age of Chinese furniture design.

Ming-style furniture is simple and elegant with clean lines. Chairs of the period and other Ming furniture made an impression on Scandinavian modernist Hans Wegner and his streamlined seating, for example. Whereas Qing-style furniture is elaborate, with an increasing influence from the West leading to lavish carving inspired by the European Baroque and Rococo styles. And while many of the forms that define examples of the latter are common within classical Chinese furniture, such as curving and folding chairs as well as large screens, Qing designs are laden with ornamentation. Frequently, the carved motifs and inlaid designs in mother-of-pearl were auspicious, such as peonies for wealth or dragons for luck. Bats were symbols of happiness in the design of Qing furniture, with one of the characters in the word for bat, bianfu, being a homophone for fu, or “fortune.”

While several types of wood were used in the construction of Qing beds, tables, storage pieces and seating, today’s collectors know that the most prized were the rare rosewoods zitan and huanghuali. They were both sourced from Hainan, China’s largest island, and are marked by a rich luster that occurs naturally, without the application of lacquer or other decorative materials. Many of the most popular woods were imported from southeast Asia, adding to their value. Red sandalwood was also sought after for its durability and connection with Chinese medicine, with some chairs being made for health benefits.

Find a collection of antique Qing tea tables, stools, benches, decorative objects and more furniture on 1stDibs.

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Item Ships From: USA
Style: Qing
Tall Vintage Chinese Export Reverse Glass Painted Hardwood Framed Hanging Panel
Located in Austin, TX
A very large vintage Chinese export reverse glass painted figural hanging wall panel in a carved hardwood frame, early to mid-20th century...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Glass, Hardwood

19th Century a Pair of Chinese Silk Fans with Giltwood Handles
Located in Brea, CA
Antique 19th century hand painted floral motifs on silk Chinese fans Qing dynasty, the fan in silk with silk fringe and giltwood handles, housed within a conforming paper covered box...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Chinese Spotted Deer Painting Fragment, c. 1751
Located in Chicago, IL
Also known as spirit screens, small Chinese table screens such as this were often used to block drafts and other intrusions in a scholar's workspa...
Category

Mid-18th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper, Pearwood

Chinese Hanging Scroll of Prunus Branches, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Chinese scholars used natural imagery and scenery to aid in contemplation within the walls of their studios. The complex beauty inherent to landscapes and natural forms inspired clea...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

China Century Old Dream Stone "Landscape Paintings" with Original Frames, Pair
Located in South Burlington, VT
Rare find Impressive wall display of two (2) Chinese dream stone "Landscape Paintings" with original period frames these wonderful round natura...
Category

1920s Chinese Vintage Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Stone

Chinese Peony and Pheasant Canopy Painting, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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 birds...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Pine

Mid-19th Century Peachwood Window Screen from Sianxi, China
Located in New York, NY
An antique window screen from Sianxi, China, Mid-19th Century. Solid peachwood in dark finish with intricate floral hand-carvings in diagonal p...
Category

1840s Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood

Chinese New Year Painting, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
In celebration of the lunar New Year festival, it was traditional all over China to hang special decorations. In a city called Wuqiang, local artists made lacquer scroll paintings laden with symbolism. This framed and finely rendered early 20th century folk painting from Wuqiang features an imperial court official and his family dressed in their best silks. The young boy is dressed in a wonderfully patterned yellow robe to offer Shou Xing...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

"Scholar's Treasures" Chinese Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Fabric

Chinese Reverse Glass Portrait of a Young Woman, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Glass

Framed Chinese Erotic Miniature Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Chinese Sign of Honor, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Signs of honor were presented as a gesture of gratitude to individuals who had bettered their community or in acknowledge of a respected person’s birthday. The sign would have been h...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Elm

Chinese Erotic Album Leaf, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Chinese Phoenix and Auspicious Fruit Canopy Painting, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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 b...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Pine

"Treasures of the Scholars' Studio" Chinese Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
With careful brushwork, this 19th century painting honors the four treasures of the scholar's studio - paper, calligraphy brush, ink, and inkstone. Essenti...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Fabric

Chinese Reverse Glass Portrait with Painted Fan, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Glass

Framed Chinese Erotic Album Leaf, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Chinese Eternal Youth Sign of Honor, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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 tran...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Elm

Framed Chinese Erotic Album Leaf, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Early 19th Century Chinese Hardwood, Lacquer and Jade Six-Panel Screen
Located in Austin, TX
A very fine mid-Qing Dynasty Chinese hardwood and lacquer six-panel screen, Jailing Period, circa 1800. The hardwood frame inset with black lacquer panels. One side features an over...
Category

Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Coral, Jade

Set of Four Chinese Immortals Screen Paintings, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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. ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Framed Chinese Erotic Album Leaf, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

'Love and Lotus Boys' Early 20th Century Chinese Folk Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Linen, Wood

Chinese Sign of Honor, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A 19th century northern Chinese sign of honor presented to an esteemed scholar on his 80th birthday. The large characters in the center read (from right...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Elm

Monumental Chinese Ancestral Portrait, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Linen

Chinese Relief Carved Architectural Panel with Fruit and Flora, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
It’s difficult to pinpoint what makes this handcrafted panel so impressive: the artful relief carvings of seasonal fruit and lush, foliage-filled vases ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Spruce

Chinese Folk Drawing of Mythical Qilin, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Beautifully detailed and masterfully painted, this painting dating from the turn of the 20th century centers its expressive composition upon a rondel of Chinese symbols. Representing...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Muslin, Elm

Fine Portrait of an Imperial Civil Official
Located in Greenwich, CT
Fine portrait of an imperial 4th rank civil official, elegant colors and refined detail, ink and color on silk, 19th century, conservation framed.
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Chinese Floral Longevity Canopy Painting, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Pine, Paint

Chinese New Year Antique Wealth God Caishen Sculpture
Located in South Burlington, VT
Our 34 inch tall Chinese Caishen's name is often invoked during Chinese New Year celebrations! This is a large and unusual antique hand carved limestone Wealth God Caishen- coming from an old New England collection Hand Made and Hand Carved Measurements: 34 inches high and 15 inches wide, Period: late Qing dynasty, late 19th-early 20th century. This god grasps a silver sycee (an ancient form of silver wealth). Provenance: Coming from an old New England collection and originally acquired from a Shanghai private collection decades ago. History of China's Wealth God Caishen: Caishen's name is often invoked during the Chinese New Year celebrations! Caishen (simplified Chinese: 财神; traditional Chinese: 財神; literally: "God of Wealth") is the Chinese god...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Limestone

Framed Chinese Erotic Pillow Book, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Paper

Chinese Six-Panel Painted Coromandel Screen Ca. Mid-18th Century
Located in Peabody, MA
A Chinese six-panel lacquer painted Coromandel screen, ca. 1760, during the Kangri period of the Qing dynasty. Features an intricately painted island scene of gilt pagodas, with a co...
Category

Mid-18th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Paint

"Boys Beneath Lotus" Chinese Folk Painted Panel, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This folk hand painted panel, laden with meaning, was originally an interior painted panel of a large storage cabinet. The panel is painted with a sc...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Elm

Qing paintings and screens for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Qing paintings and screens for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage paintings and screens created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include asian art and furniture, wall decorations, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, paper and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Qing paintings and screens made in a specific country, there are Asia, China, and East Asia pieces for sale on 1stDibs. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for paintings and screens differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $330 and tops out at $65,000 while the average work can sell for $3,200.

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