PORTRAIT OF THE ANCESTORS

Portraits of ancestors had a ritual purpose in China. They were put up during the main ceremonies, when offerings were made to the ancestors. Initially they depicted an individual or a married couple. It is not until the Qing Dynasty that we know of group portraits like this one. The central figure here is the patriarch wearing a fur cap, with his mother on his left and his wife on his right, judging by their ages; in the next rows are the eldest son and wife, the younger sons and wives, the eldest grandson and wife, and the younger grandsons and wives. On the left side sit the more distinguished, that is, the men, on the right side the women. The figures in ceremonial dress look at the viewer head-on, seated in a regular arrangement. Their uneven size is determined by generation, the figures from the oldest generation being the largest, the grandchildren and their wives the smallest. Next to each figure is a pedestal column with the legible name of the deceased, only the vignettes of the grandchildren are blank, as they were still living. The individual faces are distinctive and are probably real likenesses, while the painting also schematically represents the family tree. Rare in this portrait is the richly executed background. Behind the figures, the painter has depicted in detail the luxurious furnishings that illustrate the wealth of the family. Just behind the patriarch's shoulders, a wooden table with a bonsai on one side and an inscribed column on the other can be seen. Behind him is an altar table with an ancestral tablet placed in the back center: it is black with the golden inscription "Divine Ruler of the Historical Ancestors of the Huang Family". The table stands on a carved pedestal and is mounted on a red board with openwork gilt edges. In front of it, ritual vessels are symmetrically arranged on the table, the most important of which is the censer (a tripod with a lion on the lid), just above the patriarch. The altar is surrounded by a richly carved, massive eight-part screen set with calligraphy and images with stories of filial devotion (xiao 孝).