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Old Official with a pipe: 4165.10

An image of Drawing
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Alternative views

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

Titles

Old Official with a pipe

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 elderly man wears an elaborate outer yellow robe decorated with dragons and floral motifs, with wide sleeves and a blue yellow robe with cloud and dragon patterns. He has a long white beard and wears an official black hat. He sits on a wooden chair and holding a long pipe. A young attendant stands next to him, wearing a purple-gray robe with floral patterns and a black cap. He is using matches to light up the pipe for the elder man. On the wooden table, there are a red vase holding white orchid and a green tea cup. 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.

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 watercolour
Chinese export art

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: 4165.10
Primary reference Number: 185624

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) "Old Official with a pipe" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185624 Accessed: 2025-12-05 19:08:34

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185624 |title=Old Official with a pipe |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 19:08:34|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-185624

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/4165_2810_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Old Official with a pipe"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Old Official with a pipe</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

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