Chinese Ancestral Portrait of a Ming Official with Attendant
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
A monumental ancestral portrait depicting a Ming official seated frontally in richly embroidered red court robes with crane motif, his rank badge clearly visible at chest, attended by a standing figure at his side. Painted with the formal precision and solemnity characteristic of ancestral portraiture, this large-scale scroll would have been created for domestic veneration, affirming lineage and filial piety.
Ink and color on paper, mounted as a hanging scroll
91″ x 45″
Provenance: The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York (purchased for $36,000).
Condition: Age-expected wear, creasing, surface soiling, and restoration consistent with 17th-century scrolls; remounted.
Estimate: $3000 - $5000