EMPRESS CIXI (1835-1908)

EMPRESS CIXI (1835-1908)
Chrysanthemum

Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk
107 x 54 cm (42 1/8 x 21 1/4 in.)
Inscribed and signed by the artist: Yu Bi (by Imperial hand)
Four seals of the artist: Ci Xi Huang Tai Hou Zhi Bao, Da Ya Zhai, Jin Zhao Yu Xiang, Lang Run Qing Hua
Dated tenth month, wuxu year of the Guangxu era (1898)
Inscription on the painting by Xu Fu (1836-1907)

Note:
Xu Fu was a native of Jiading, Jiangsu, and his sobriquet name was Xongge. He came first in the official examinations in the first year of the Tongzhi era (1862). For brief biography, see Zhongguo LidaiRenming Dacidian, Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, 1999, p.1932