'Tombs at Shanghai (Ming Dynasty)' [China]
No. 38 of 51 (PAJ2051 - PAJ2101): inscribed by the artist on the album page, as title and signed and dated on the drawing, lower left, 'JHB / 12/67. There is also a '/ 68' date on the album page above the longer inscription.
Chinese tombs are often associated with guardian figures, which is what is presumably shown here in the form of two stone sages. The pair of horses behind are probably also monuments. The Ming Dynasty ruled from 1368 to 1644, its greatest funerary monuments being those of the Imperial mausoleum near Beijing. While Butt clearly shows a historic necropolis of some sort, it is also one which at the time was neglected and being used for agriculture (as the strip cultivation behind the stone figures indicates). The Chinese figure in black included for scale appears to be an official and/or perhaps his guide to the site.
Chinese tombs are often associated with guardian figures, which is what is presumably shown here in the form of two stone sages. The pair of horses behind are probably also monuments. The Ming Dynasty ruled from 1368 to 1644, its greatest funerary monuments being those of the Imperial mausoleum near Beijing. While Butt clearly shows a historic necropolis of some sort, it is also one which at the time was neglected and being used for agriculture (as the strip cultivation behind the stone figures indicates). The Chinese figure in black included for scale appears to be an official and/or perhaps his guide to the site.
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