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An Official with His Attendant: 4165.8

An image of Drawing
View image details Mirador icon - view image Mirador deep zoom IIIF Manifest IIIF Manifest Slow looking

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Alternative views

An image of Drawing
An image of Drawing
Current Location: In storage

Titles

An Official with His Attendant

Maker(s)

Sunqua (Attributed)

Entities

Categories

Description

A watercolour drawing from the album 4165. This image depicts two Qing men in a domestic setting. The seated elder man is seated on a red lacquered kang (platform bed). He wears an elaborate blue robe decorated with dragon motifs and colourful embroidery, with orange and red accents. His outfit includes a black cap with decorative elements. He has a thin mustache and is seated in a relaxed pose, with one hand raised. The younger man, likely a servant or subordinate, is kneeling next to the kang and reports to the official. He wears a brown-purple robe and a yellow cap. The furniture includes a low green lacquered table, upon which sits a small ceramic vessel, and a hat stand. On the floor beside the kang is a green ceramic jar. The painting is executed in the style typical of Chinese export art from around the late 18th or early 19th century, with careful attention to details in the clothing, furniture, and domestic objects. The style combines Chinese painting techniques with elements designed to appeal to Western tastes, particularly in the detailed rendering of the furniture's materials, the textiles' intricate designs, and the figures' individual facial characteristics. Previously described as "Manchu official".

Measurements and weight

Height: 365 mm
Width: 256 mm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1909) by Bothamley, Rev. H.

Note

Export album made for the Western market

School or Style

Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour

Materials used in production

Watercolour
Bodycolour
White highlights
Ink

Components of the work

Support composed of pith paper

Techniques used in production

Drawing : Watercolour, bodycolour, and ink with heightening in white, gold and silver on pith paper, laid down with with strips of blue silk-covered paper

Identification numbers

Accession number: 4165.8
Primary reference Number: 185622

Audit data

Created: Monday 10 October 2011 Updated: Thursday 28 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "An Official with His Attendant" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185622 Accessed: 2025-12-08 06:27:54

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185622 |title=An Official with His Attendant |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-08 06:27:54|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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