Chinese School, 19th Century Portrait Miniature of Yeh, Governor of the Kwang-si and Kwang Tung Provinces- taken prisoner of the E...

Description:

Chinese School, 19th Century

Portrait Miniature of "Yeh, Governor of the Kwang-si and Kwang Tung Provinces- taken prisoner of the English January 1858." Unsigned. The subject identified in inscriptions below. Watercolor on paper, 3 7/8 x 3 3/8 in., in a period molded giltwood frame. Condition: Toning.

Note: This portrait depicts Ye Mingchen (1807-1859),who was appointed governor of Guangdong province in 1848, and conflicted with Britain because of his refusal to allow British traders to reside in the city of Guangzhou proper, which the British claimed rights to according to the Treaty of Nanking. Further conflicts started the Second Opium War, prompting the British to capture Ye and bring him to Calcutta in British India as a prisoner of war where he lived in exile.
Estimate $400-600

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