Portrait scroll of seven generations of the same family
This scroll contains nineteen portraits from seven generations of a single family. The patriarch of each generation is depicted along with his wife or wives and, in some cases, concubines. The first four generations wear robes and hats of the Ming dynasty, while the final three wear Qing-dynasty attire. Each generation is preceded by a label in the shape of a “spirit tablet,” a ritual placard used to house the spirit of the deceased so the living may venerate them in the ancestral altar of the home. These tablets transcribe the generation of each man, his branch of the family, and the maiden names of the women. The final tablet remains uninscribed, likely because the man pictured commissioned the scroll during his own lifetime.
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