PORTRAIT OF A CIVIL OFFICIAL

This figure wears Qing winter court robes, which consist of a fur-lined surcoat (pu fu) over his formal court robe (chao fu). His silver pheasant rank badge identifies him as a fifth-rank civil official. The presence of an attendant and the decorative furnishings, especially the inlaid table and incense burner with smoke forming the character shou, resemble those in a 16th century portrait of a court lady in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by L. He and M. Knight, Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty, San Francisco, 2008, p. 261, no. 148.