Ancestor Painting, Grandfather Official in Scarlet colour-brown has some nice decorative elements

has some nice decorative elements

The cabinet is from Shanxi in central China and has panels inset into rounded frames - a common feature of furniture from the region

The 'S' shaped curved backrests were common in chairs produced in China for hundreds of years

The top rails are curved in a style typical of Shanxi chairs

These extraordinary

Ancestor Painting, Grandfather Official in Scarlet colour-brown has some nice decorative elementsAncestor portraits like this one formed an important part of the Chinese practice of ancestor worship. The family had a duty to honour and commemorate their ancestors, with rituals and offerings being an important part of this. Portraits were usually near life size and painted from a front perspective, with the subjects usually seated and wearing robes to show the insignia of their rank. Original ancestor paintings are now rare and highly sought