A young woman sits on a lacquered chair with a folded fan in her hand, one arm resting on a table draped in bright red cloth. On the table stand a tall white vase of red and white blossoms and a small blue and white covered cup. She wears a blue robe with large chrysanthemum medallions over a peach under-robe, a skirt of blue cloud scrolls, a red-embroidered shoe and hair ornaments hung with teal and red tassels. The whole scene is painted in reverse on glass in the manner of the Canton export studios of southern China, with a deep black ground that makes every color glow and a pale floor beneath her feet. Gilt lines trace the chair and the hems of her robes.

Measuring 17.5 inches tall in a black frame with gold bronze corners, it hangs over a console, in a dining room, a hallway or a bedroom, or leans on a shelf or sideboard. The dark ground suits a pale wall, where the reds and blues carry across the room.

• Era: Vintage to antique
• Origin: China
• Material: Paint and gilding on glass, wood frame
• Size: 13.5"(W) x 1"(D) x 17.5"(H), framed
• Color: Black, red, blue and peach, black frame with gold corners
• Condition: Wear consistent with age and use, part of its character and historical value. A fine scratch in the black ground at the upper right and minor wear in the paint.

This Chinese reverse glass painting shows a seated lady with a fan beside a table with a flower vase and covered cup, on a black ground, in the Canton export style, in a black and gold corner frame. It measures 13.5 inches wide, 1 inch deep and 17.5 inches tall framed. It suits a console, dining room, hallway or bedroom wall.

Q: What do the objects in Chinese export portraits mean?
A: Fans, flower vases and tea ware marked a life of leisure and refinement, and painters in the export studios repeated them in scenes made for both Chinese and foreign buyers. The vase of blossoms and the covered cup place the lady in a cultured household.

Q: What kind of wall suits a painting with a black ground?
A: A pale or warm wall lets the black ground read as a clean field and makes the red and blue stand out. Hang it at eye level over a console or sideboard where light reaches the glass.

**Please bear in mind that colors of products shown may vary slightly from their original color due to monitor display settings or photography studio