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Qing Official Standing by a Table
A watercolour drawing from the album 4168. This image depicts a high-ranking Qing official standing beside a dark wooden table. The figure wears a court robe in red and blue with elaborate dragon and cloud motifs, indicating his high status. His outfit features intricate embroidery with multiple decorative elements, and the lower portion displays wave patterns in dark blue with floral details. He wears a black cap with red trim and a peacock feather, and has a well-groomed mustache and goatee. On the table are a tall ceramic vase with blue and white patterns holding blue flowering branches, a blue bowl holding grapes, melon and pumpkin, and a stack of books.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 decorative objects. The style combines Chinese painting techniques with elements designed to appeal to Western tastes, particularly in the detailed rendering of the figure's sumptuous costume and the well-appointed interior setting. Previously described as "Man, standing ".
Height: 336 mm
Width: 253 mm
Method of acquisition: Given (1909) by Bothamley, Rev. H.
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Watercolour
Bodycolour
White highlights
Ink
Support composed of pith paper
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
Accession number: 4168.5
Primary reference Number: 185643
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Qing Official Standing by a Table" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185643 Accessed: 2025-12-05 12:59:28
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/185643
|title=Qing Official Standing by a Table
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 12:59:28|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-185643
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
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<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp82/4168_285_29_201106_amt49_dc2.jpg"
alt="Qing Official Standing by a Table"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Qing Official Standing by a Table</figcaption>
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