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THBQing Dynasty Scrolls - Loyal Minister and General
Lot 207
About Seller
Artemis Fine Arts
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$700 - $1,050
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| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
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| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Fine Arts
Aug 22, 2025
Set Reminder
2025-08-22 10:00:00
2025-08-22 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Indigenous Art - Ralph T. Coe Center, Santa Fe, NM
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/indigenous-art---ralph-t-coe-center-santa-fe-nm-20324
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
View Full Catalog (452)
- Lot Description
East Asia, China, Qing Dynasty, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A paired set of Qing dynasty ink and color portraits, each depicting a revered Chinese historical figure - one a loyal minister, the other a high-ranking general - both rendered with expressive brushwork, mineral pigments, and poetic inscriptions. Created in the late 19th to early 20th century, these companion scroll paintings exemplify the literati and moralist traditions of ancestor veneration, Confucian virtue, and historical emulation through portraiture. The first figure, identified in bold calligraphy as Li Zhongding Gong, is the posthumous title of Li Gang, a renowned Song dynasty statesman and general remembered for resisting the Jin invasion. He is shown standing frontally, wearing a pale ochre robe with sea-green trim and red-soled scholar-official shoes. Size of painting (both the same): 6.25" W x 7.5" H (15.9 cm x 19 cm); of frame: 12" W x 14" H (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm)
A green winged hat crowns his head, and he cradles a ceremonial hu tablet, emblem of civil service. The inscription praises his moral clarity, loyalty to the emperor, and lifelong devotion to righteous governance. Such portraits were often installed in Confucian temples or private family shrines as visual embodiments of upright character and national service.
The second figure is an unnamed general clad in layered teal robes and gold-embellished scale armor, his head wrapped in a winter fur headdress. His rich attire, including dragon-form knee guards and ceremonial tassels, marks him as a military official of the Ming or earlier dynasties - possibly intended to represent Fu Youde, the Ming general famed for his campaigns against the Mongols and his steadfast service to the Hongwu Emperor. The inscription beside him offers a eulogy in poetic script, reinforcing themes of martial virtue and heroic resolve. With one hand gathering his cloak and the other resting near his belt, he stands as a symbol of vigilance and strength, immortalized in line and ink.
Both works are meticulously executed on silk and retain red seal marks denoting the artist or studio. Framed together, they embody the Qing dynasty practice of pairing civil and martial paragons - wen and wu - as a balanced ideal of governance and virtue. Intended as moral exemplars, these portraits merge calligraphic praise with painterly form, honoring the past while instructing future generations.
Provenance: private Las Vegas, Nevada, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
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#195204Both are mounted behind glass in custom mattes and frames; have not been examined outside of glass. Each has age-commensurate creasing, yellowing, and fading, but are otherwise very nice with clear imagery and suspension wires on verso for display.Condition
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