Antique Mandarin Official with Inscription , China (16479B)

Description

Designation as civilian Mandarin officials was so significant that families fervently sought to perpetuate this image through generations in carved and painted ancestral renderings. This civilian official sits in the traditional official’s pose with arms on short armrests in an an ornately carved high back chair, curved backrest, tall legs and vertical slats on a red pedestal, indicating either his actual high rank or his family’s desire to depict him as having it.

During the Qing Dynasty government officials were compelled to wear the Manchu official’s attire for formal occasions which continued through the Republic of China in 1912. This civil or scholar official wears official attire: conical hat (guanmao) with a round finial, and a short traditional black Mandarin changshan coat with four buttons over his plain long gown (nei tao) with a red floral designed sash hanging under the jacket.  His black boots with thick white soles are a sign of his status, as they were said to cost as much as a servant would earn in one year, according to Garrett, “…they were such a symbol of superiority that a proverb at the time stated ‘A man in boots will not speak to a man in shoes.” (Garrett, p. 74) His robes reflect status colors: black represents prestige, nobility and authority, red symbolizes fu, which translates as “good fortune,” “happiness,” “blessings,” or “prosperity and gold denotes supreme power. He sits on a curved high back chair resting on a high pedestal with a painted inscription. Loosely translated, the three-character inscription (Qīng Mào Fàn) is “The Honorable/Excellent Official [surname] Fan” or “The Excellent Model Official,” an honorific title that celebrates his virtue and position.

His lacquer hued oversized oval head of this idealize Mandarin official bends slightly forward with smooth facial features with painted eyes, high-arched eyebrows, dark mustache and beard, and painted cheeks and lips crated with soft brushstrokes. His  “archaic” smile, gazing calmly into space, with a serene benevolent expression. All this contributes to his high rank and otherworldliness as he has transcended the constraints of the physical world.

It is in excellent condition consistent with its age and use with a small chip, minor scrapes, and a crack and was retouched with paint long ago. The open cavity carved between the slats of his chair contains its original contents..

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Sources

Valery M. Garrett, A Collector’s Guide to Chinese Dress Accessories, Singapore,  Times Editions, 1997.

Valery Garret, Chinese Clothing, An Illustrated Guide.  Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, 1994.