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Lot Essay
The painting was once part of a larger scroll. It depicts a high official on horseback and a noblewoman in a sedan chair, all accompanied by their attendants. The inscription can be translated as 'dripping dew', while the seal can be read as 'fabulous mountains and water'. These suggest that this painting may have been one of a series of scrolls showing different parts of a journey. Scenes of this type, showing Qing officials hunting, travelling, or riding for pleasure, were painted largely to demonstrate the Manchu's connection with their cultural heritage.
These 'outdoor' subjects are reminiscent of the well-known scroll paintings showing Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong on their tours of southern China, hunting in the northern countryside, or reviewing their troops. See some examples illustrated in From Beijing to Versailles - Artistic Relations between China and France, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 1997, pls. 111, 112, 115-118, 119 and 120.
These 'outdoor' subjects are reminiscent of the well-known scroll paintings showing Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong on their tours of southern China, hunting in the northern countryside, or reviewing their troops. See some examples illustrated in From Beijing to Versailles - Artistic Relations between China and France, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 1997, pls. 111, 112, 115-118, 119 and 120.