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Worshiping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits

June 17, 2001 - September 9, 2001

Museum: Sackler Gallery

Location: Galleries NE2, MZ1 & 2, E1-5

On view are 38 nearly life-sized, brightly colored portraits that range in date from 1451 to 1943 with particular emphasis on paintings of members of the Qing dynasty imperial family and the social elite (1644-1911). A few examples of Qing dynasty costume and furniture are also presented, as well as a "book of faces" that served as a guide for professional painters who were often asked to create posthumous ancestor portraits. Catalogue See Smithsonian magazine, p. 26.