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Woman with a fan: 4166.3

An image of Drawing

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Woman with a fan

Maker(s)

Sunqua (Attributed)

Entities

Categories

Description

A watercolour drawing from the album 4166. This image depicts a Chinese lady standing beside a green lacquered table in a domestic setting. The lady wears a blue robe decorated with dragon and cloud pattern. Her red skirt has intricated floral patterns in orange, red, and gold. She holds a decorative fan painted with pink peonies and wears a kingfisher headdress adorned with floral motifs. On the green table next to her, there are two bronze vessels. One is a small incense burner. The other is a gu vase, holding a red ruyi sceptre, a peacock feather, and a bamboo flute. 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 and furniture. The style combines Chinese painting techniques with elements designed to appeal to Western tastes, particularly in the detailed rendering of the figures' clothing and accessories.

Measurements and weight

Height: 365 mm
Width: 256 mm

Acquisition and important dates

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

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: 4166.3
Primary reference Number: 185629
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Monday 10 October 2011 Updated: Thursday 28 August 2025 Last processed: 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) "Woman with a fan" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185629 Accessed: 2025-12-08 07:18:15

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185629 |title=Woman with a fan |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-08 07:18:15|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-185629

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/4166_283_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Woman with a fan"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Woman with a fan</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

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