Los 4048

China
Scenes of daily life in China

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Fotografie des 19. – 21. Jahrhunderts (Katalog nur online verfügbar)
Auktionsdatum 6.6.2026

Photographers: William Saunders (1832-1892), Lai Afong (1839-1890), Pun Lun Studio (active 1864-1907), Sze Yuen Ming & Co. (active 1892-1920s) and others. Scenes of daily life in Qing-Dynasty China. 1880s-1890s. 12 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each ca. 26 x 19 cm or reverse. Some annotated in pencil below the image on the mount.

This group of photographs offers a richly detailed view of social, domestic, and professional life in late Qing dynasty China. Several images depict opium-smoking scenes in carefully arranged interiors, with lacquered furniture and ceramics underscoring both the ritualized nature of the practice and its staged presentation. Others show men at leisure - playing games, dining, or posing in formal dress - as well as figures in professional or performative roles, including opera actors and a street porter with his rickshaw. A particularly striking image of a man wearing a punishment cangue provides rare visual evidence of contemporary penal practices.