Framed Chinese Qianlong Emperor and Empress Reverse Glass Pair of Portrait Paintings. Bronze Oriental fittings at top of each rosewood frame to hang them up together. Likely made in the early 20th Century. 

Overall Size: 15 x 23 1/2 in. 

Sight Size: 12 1/2 x 20 in. 

The Qing Dynasty was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China proclaimed by Nurhaci in 1636, making his son Hong Taiji the Emperor, with the final rebellions of the Ming Dynasty collapsing after Beijing was captured in 1644. They rejected prior policies of discrimination against non-Han ethnic groups, making the multi-ethnic assembled territories into the basis for modern China. The Kangxi Emperor (1661-1722) consolidated control, relished the role of a Confucian ruler, encouraged scholarship for all, championed Buddhism (including Tibetan Buddhism), and instigated policies that significantly stimulated population and economic growth. Art flourished and innovations occurred in many areas of life due to high levels of literacy, successful export industries, and smart economic decisions. The Dynasty also expanded their territory to control Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang, and implemented the tributary system by asserting superiority over peripheral countries such as Korea and Vietnam. It became the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China, and by 1790 it was the fourth-largest empire in history in terms of territorial size. With over 426 million citizens in 1907 it became the most populous country in the world, a distinction it has held for much of the rest of human history. The High Qing era was reached in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735-1796), with Ten Great Campaigns of conquest and numerous Confucian cultural projects. After his death the Dynasty faced internal revolts, economic disruption, and official corruption, and China’s defeat in the Opium Wars put them at the mercy of unequal treaties forced upon them by Western colonial powers. The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and the Dungan Revolt (1862-1877) led to the deaths of over 20 million people from famine, disease, and war. The Tongzhi Restoration in the 1860s brought vigorous reforms and the introduction of foreign military technology in the Self-Strengthening Movement. Defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, however, led to loss of suzerainty over Korea and cession of Taiwan to Japan. Although there were attempts at reform under the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), in 1900 the  anti-foreign, anti-imperialist Boxer Rebellion tore the nation apart, with an estimated 100,000 dead, a third of them Chinese Christians. The retaliation of numerous foreign powers by invading China and imposing a punitive indemnity led to unprecedented fiscal and administrative reforms. After the deaths of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi in 1908, Manchu conservatives at court alienated reformers and local elites alike, and the Wuchang Uprising of October 1911 led to the Xinhai Revolution. The Xuantong Emperor Puyi was only two years old when he was put on the throne, but was forced to abdicate on February 12th, 1912. In 1917 the Qing Dynasty was briefly revived during the Manchu Restoration, but this was neither recognized by the Beiyang government (1912-1928) of the Republic of China nor the international community. Puyi died a common citizen of China in 1967, the last Emperor of the last official Chinese Dynasty in history, ending over 2,000 years of Imperial rule.