A PAIR OF PORTRAITS OF A NOBLEMAN AND HIS WIFE QING DYNASTY, 18TH / EARLY 19TH CENTURY

ink and color on silk, each depicted seated frontally on an elaborately carved black and gilt lacquer horseshoe-back armchair covered with tiger skin, the faces of the young couple finely painted bearing benign expressions, both richly attired in semi-formal court dress, the man with a yellow-ground four-clawed dragon, fur-lined surcoat and fur-trimmed silk cape over a blue-ground dragon robe, and on his head a chao guan of a first-rank official; the noblewoman wears a similar headress, cape and outer robe, fur-lined, with bold writhing four-clawed dragons on a blue ground, the red-knotted buttons and a gold collar or torque indicating the rank of imperial princess, mounted on silk, gilt wood frame (2)

Collection of Benjamin Benedict Green-Field (1897-1988), Chicago, acquired in Paris in the 1920s.

The paintings were not examined out of the glass-paneled hardwood frames. The paintings are in good overall condition; the pigments are exceptionally fresh and vibrant. There has been some wear and loss to the pigments from creasing and rolling. The silk is stained and worn in several places with the discoloration most notable on the background of each portrait.
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.
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Each of the portraits bears several attributes identifying the couple as members of the Qing imperial family. Ceremonial attire was highly regulated during the Qing dynasty with colors, decorative motifs and accessories indicating rank and status. The tiger skins draped over the chairs of both the man, and more unusually, the woman references a connection to the Aisen Gioro clan.  The yellow ground of his surcoat and the blue ground of hers were colors available only to imperial princes and the wives and daughters of princes, respectively. The fur-lined cuffs, four-clawed dragons, and the hat surmounted by a white pearl and red ruby were restricted to members of the first rank of the imperial court. Here they relate the husband's rank and, by association, that of his wife. For a similar example of the hat see Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley California 2000, pl. 87.  For a closely related portrait see the 'Portrait of Linrongbao's Wife' in the Free Sackler Museum, Washington D.C. illustrated in Jan Stuart and Evelyn Rawski, Worshipping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits, Freer Sackler Museum, Washington D.C., 2001, pl. 6.7.