Chinese Ancestor Portrait

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 f...

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

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...

Tracy Crump uses washes of grey, white and aqua to both conceal and reveal sensitively drawn figures. Each figure stands alone as an individual, possessing unique features and hairst...

This painting - like all of Ren Hui’s masterful works - draws you in, and then asks you to step back and take a second look. Entitled "Team," this masterpiece of acrylic on canvas re...

A Chinese 'Ancestor Portrait' oil on canvas laid down on board, depicting a seated dignitary. The Chinese characters identify the artist at Giuseppe Castiglione...

Depicting a husband and wife seated with rank badge. Ebonized frame.

Chinese ancestor portrait of a Mandarin Dignitary. Antique tempera on paper painting of a Mandarin Dignitary wearing a red court dress and s...

Vintage (20th Century) Chinese pen and ink family ancestor portrait capturing nine honorees seated in front of scrolls bearing text framed by curta...

Vintage (20th Century) Chinese pen and ink ancestor portrait capturing the honoree seated and wearing an elaborate hat and navy dress, on a beige b...

Chinese ancestor portrait depicting a man in flowing golden robes decorated with medalions featuring dragons, seated above a floor featuring additional dragon designs in a heavy rect...