The Yongzheng Emperor in Formal Court Robe (18th century)
103 cm h x 67 cm w (40 1/2 in h x 26 1/4 in w)
Deｓｃｒｉｐｔion
A rare and important court painting on silk of the emperor seated on a cushion, holding a book, in a rigidly frontal and restrained pose. The emperor's expression is sombre and detached, and his clothing and cushion are all highly patterned.
Within the Qing Court such ancestor portaits were used in ritual ceremonies.
According to studies by Evelyn Rawski, it is recorded that after the death of the emperor Yongzheng, his portrait was hung in the Palace of Complete Harmony, his formerly princely palace. There daily rituals were performed in front of the portrait between time and death and burial. Apart from funerary rites, imperial portraits were worshipped in places such as the Shouhuangdian, the imperial family ancestral hall, at New Year, when the emperor and his sons would offer sacrifices before the portraits.
It is uncertain however how this portrait was used. There exist another formal portrait in the Gugong
Museum in a similar pose.
By reputation this portrait has been one of a series of paintings of 12 emperors commissioned by the Jiaqing emperor at the start of his reign at the end of the 18th Century.
The painting has its original palace brocade surround and is newly ｆｒａｍｅd and glazed.
ref.#4661
Provenance
private Japanese Collection
Literature
For a discussion on court paintings , see : Zhang Hongxing, The Qianlong Emperor, Treasures From The Forbidden City. Edinburgh 2002. Jan Stuart, Evelyn Rawski,; Worshipping the Ancestors, Washington 2001
