High dignitary of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi period. China, 17th century.

High dignitary of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi period. China, 17th century.
Carved wood, with traces of polychrome.
Measurements: 60,5 cm (height).

Seated figure representing a Chinese dignitary. The sculpture has been worked in round bulk and its style reflects the artistic tradition of the Kangxi period. It is a sculpture, finely carved, in which the reproduction of the details of the costume. The fabric adheres to the body highlighting the belly, whose roundness is a symbol of prosperity. Indeed, the generous belly and the elongated earlobes symbolize happiness and wisdom respectively, both for the representation of divinities and in the characterization of aristocrats and emperors.

Emperor Kangxi was one of the most important monarchs in the history of China, and in fact his reign of sixty-one years, parallel to that of Louis XIV in France, is the longest in the history of the country, and established the power of the new Qing dynasty. His was a period of cultural splendor, thanks largely to the intense work of artistic patronage developed by the emperor himself. The emperor himself practiced calligraphy and painting, the two most highly regarded arts in China, and maintained the Neo-Confucian canon of Zhu Xi as the standard of culture on which the imperial examinations were based. The emperor developed an important work in support of literature, and also promoted the plastic arts. In 1661 the imperial workshops were founded in Beijing, where sumptuary objects were produced for the court, from porcelain to paintings and ritual objects. Silk production workshops were also established at this time in the southern cities of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Jiangning.