Chinese Ancestor Portrait Scroll

Solemn seated portrait in a red robe hangs from a dark scroll mount.

This ancestor portrait scroll is from China, and dates to the 19th century. It is painted paper & cloth. It was widely believed in China that part of a person's soul rose to heaven while another part stayed on earth, residing in a spirit tablet. Painted portrait of a seated person facing front in a bright red robe with a square patch on the chest, framed with an ornate headdress. The chair is richly patterned, and the scroll has dark brown borders and a rod at the base. It is 36 inches wide and 85 high.

Formal, unblinking, and wearing a very good shade of red.