Massive scrolled late Qing dynasty Chinese ancestor portrait executed in ink and color on paper depicting a civil official and his two wives. The official is dressed in formal attire and is seated on an armchair draped with a tiger skin. A Mandarin rank badge showing the official’s rank in the civil bureaucracy is on the center front of his cobalt-blue surcoat. The long tail appears to designate the bird as a paradise flycatcher, indicating an official of the 9th rank. He wears a hat with a brass or gilded finial, a fur-lined collar (pi ling) around his neck, and Manchu boots. An embroidered robe decorated with four-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls above waves is visible beneath the outer coat. The official’s two wives are seated on armchairs below him and are similarly dressed in red robes with large, full sleeves properly covering their hands. Embroidered xia pei vests, each with a matching central rank badge set against clouds and peaches below a ruyi form collar, are layered over the red robe. The tasseled bottoms of the long vests are embroidered with dragons over waves. A pleated skirt is barely visible at the bottom of each vest and the wives’ feet are appropriately hidden from view. Each wife has an elaborate jeweled headdress. Late 19th to early 20th century. The scroll measures about 104 1/2" x 44 1/4" (painting: 61 1/2" x 36 1/2"). Very good clean overall condition with only minor soiling of the background evident. From the collection of a former American expatriate to China from 1983-1987.