AN ANCESTOR PORTRAIT OF A FIRST-RANK OFFICIAL LATE MING DYNASTY

ink and colour on silk, depicting a bearded official with serene expression, adorned with a winged black hat and long flowing red robes, with a rank badge of double cranes and tortoise-shell inlaid belt, part of the fingers of his right hand protruding from the sleeve, seated on a chair draped with an elaborately embroidered cover, the carpet decorated with lotus and key-fret picked out in bright colours, framed

Vertical and horizontal folds in places running across the surface of the painting. Occasional losses including a 4.5 x 1cm loss at the centre of the robe, a circa 4cm white paint mark to the bottom right of the robe. Water damage measuring circa 27.5 x 7cm to the bottom left corner on the brocade mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

See an ancestral portrait painting depicting a high-ranking official in a similar red Ming-style robe bearing a double-crane badge illustrated in the Catalogue of Chinese Portrait Paintings of Ming Dynasty, New York, 1936, cat. no. 40. A later portrait of a courtier wearing the same type of Ming-style robe with the double-crane badge, in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, was included in the exhibition Worshipping the Ancestors, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 2001, cat. no. 7.11. This painting was originally attributed as Korean by the art curators until 1994, when the mistake was corrected and the painting re-attributed as Chinese.

The crane badge seen on the present painting reflects the sitter's rank which was that of a first-rank civil official. Badges with cranes continued to be used throughout the Qing period when the husband's rank was extended to his wife, who wore an identical badge but with the bird facing the opposite direction.