Antique Chinese Ancestor Portrait
Ceremonial or commemorative painted portrait of Chinese man in colorful outfit sitting on a chair, on a colorful rug. 32 3/4 wide x 56” tall. Inherited from my father who brought it back from Southeast Asia in the early 1950s. No markings on front or back, not framed, Paper has some foxing and is fragile around the edges.The man’s hat has a red stone on the top that is not shown in the photo. I also have a similar portrait of a woman of the same size, age and condition.
One of two i inherited from my father who brought it back from Southeast Asia in the early 1950s. Hung in my parent’s home all of my life.
Inherited
Maybe
Dear Amanda,
This scroll is a mid 20th century print of portrait of the Qing Dynasty Emperor, Yong Zheng (r. 1723-35). Most likely the other one is his Empress (Huang Hou). These ancestor prints of old Emperors popular in China but also made for export to the west. My estimation is for the one. You can find with google perhaps also the other one and confirm yourself it is Huang Hou. If you have them both I would say add 125 % to the price.
Thank you. I appreciate this! There are two things I did not tell you about the man’s portrait. There is an edging of flowered silk around the edge, which isn’t clear in the photos. Also I looked closely with a magnifying glass to see any telltale printing dots, marks or off-registration, and I didn’t see any. There is also a different roughness to the watercolor or tempura like texture between the different color areas. Is it possible this could be an original painting? I could send you some more close up photos if that would help. I know the originals are not ideal. Also, the other portrait is of an older lady and she has a different chair and rug that the man, so I’m not sure they are a couple. Just FYI.