my decorator collector great Aunt , Marie p Reuterberg purchased this art while living in Shanghai in the 1920's. This one had some water damage from a recent flood
My great Aunt Marie P. Reuterberg was considered quite an expert in Chinese culture. She collected many treasures while living in Shanghai for three years in the 1920's
A painted depiction of an imperial dragon. Its done on paper and they used a specific material ( not sure what ) to get the dragon embossed. Its imperial due to the 5 claws the dragon has. Having said that; I do not think this painting is Imperial in origin. The quality of the painting is just not well enough to link it to the Chinese imperial courtship. After the last emporer (Xuāntǒng) the rules for using a 5 claw dragon were not strict anymore. In fact in Guangxu period ( 1875 tot 1908) the 5 claw dragon was used also outside the courtship. Your painting is made first half 20th century and is made for export purposes to the west. The interest in eastern art increased a lot in the 1920ties and Chinese factory's started to make art and objects in the western taste to meet the demand. I believe this artwork is from the period after 1920. As said the quality and details are not very good and that plays an important role in price tag. Having said that; the emotional value is of course priceless when it is a family piece.