Chinese School, Qing dynasty, 19th century, group portrait with 32 seated figures. Watercolour
Artist - Unknown
Title - Group portrait of 32 people.
Medium - Gouache/watercolour on paper
Size - 160cm x 104cm
Chinese School, Qing dynasty, 19th century, a large ancestor group portrait depicting thirty-two seated figures in front of a screen and an altar table, watercolour on paper. All of the rank badges appear to be birds indicationg these are probably high ranking court officials.
The picture is framed in a high quality 20th century frame that suits the image well.
The Chinese tradition of wearing rank badges (buzi), also known as Mandarin squares, to demonstrate civil, military or imperial rank began in 1391 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and continued throughout the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
There were four types of rank insignia: imperial, Civil officials’, military and censors’. There were nine different ranks each for civil and military officials.
...Each of these insignia gave a clear indication of the rank of its wearer.
A badge featuring a bird identified the wearer as a civil official. To attain such a position required years of intense study, so birds may have been selected because of their literary associations. Each rank was represented by a different species, and while there were slight variations over time, by the Qing Dynasty the order from highest to lowest was: crane, golden pheasant, peacock, wild goose, silver pheasant, egret, mandarin duck, quail and paradise flycatcher. Civil officials sat on the emperor’s left at court functions, so their rank birds faced right towards him.
These insignia were sewn onto or woven into the wearer’s garments to indicate their rank. Civil officials wore insignia with different bird species corresponding to their rank, while animals denoted military officers. Court attire was regulated by imperial decrees such as the Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court, published in 1759.
The fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 brought an end to rank insignia.
Postage in the UK is free and outside of the UK at cost. All items are sent by trackable postage.
Internal Reference: group portrait
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA995897
Dateline of this antique is 19th Century
Height is 160cm (63.0inches)Width is 104cm (40.9inches)Depth is 0cm (0.0inches)
Thank you.
Your comment has been sent to Sellingantiques.