LAI CHONG (Shanghai)

CHINA Portraits and Customs

Details

LAI CHONG (Shanghai)

General Ko-Lin, Sept. 1853

Daguerreotype, 2½ x 1¾ in., the robes and accessories hand-tinted, gilt card mount, photographer's printed paper label in English and Chinese with ink manuscript additions including Portrait of Mongal General Ko - Lin, 1853 on verso, in folding case with original Chinese silk lining.

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong in 1954

Literature

Chen-sen et al., History of Chinese Photo 1840-1947, p. 46 (illus.)

Exhibited

National Gallery of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, Nov. 1984

Lot Essay

Three-quarter figure portrait of an Imperial yellow bannerman cavalry chief. Thought to be the earliest dated Chinese daguerreotype subject by a Chinese photographer. The hand-colouring derives from folk art and the China Trade glass-painting tradition.

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