Scholar-official figure. China, Qing dynasty, 19th - early 20th century.

Figure of scholar-official. China, Qing dynasty, 19th century - early 20th century.
Carved and polychrome wood.
With seal of the Ministry of Antiquities.
Measurements: 31 x 13 x 8 cm.

Carved and polychrome figure of an ancestor, seated on a throne, dressed in the official robe and high headdress; the face is finely modeled with mustache and goatee. Her posture, dress and headdress suggest a Confucianist intellectual. The robe is richly adorned with gilt and painted details in red, black and blue. On the back, a hidden compartment -traditionally used to keep scrolls with prayers or family petitions- reinforces its function within the rituals of ancestral veneration.

This type of figure was placed on domestic or clan altars, where gifts were offered to maintain the link between descendants and their venerated ancestors.