ANONYMOUS, CANTON SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY) Two Paintings of Officials (2)PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NANCY HUGUSANONYMOUS, CANTON SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY)Two Paintings of OfficialsGoauche on paper, framed and glazed. 14 1/2 x 11in (36.8 x 27.9cm) sight (2).佚名 人物圖兩幅 紙本設色 裝框One figure wears a dark blue robe bearing a 'tiger' rank badge, designed for a fourth rank military official. The second figure wears a 'sea horse' rank badge, representing the ninth military rank. The 'sea horse' rank badge illustrated in the present lot is believed to have only existed in theory as no known examples are extant. Examples of what the 'sea horse' badge possibly looked like exist in other sources. For instance, woodblock prints from the court dress regulations depict a white horse leaping across waves. One possible explanation for the scarcity of 'sea horse' rank badges could be economic, as lower ranked military officers received very low pay and would not have been able to bear the cost of a formal court costume.Dr. David Hugus is a renowned collector of Chinese rank badges, and an international authority on the subject. Prior to embarking on this pursuit, Dr. Hugus served with honor in the United States military. During his numerous tours in Asia and elsewhere, he earned a Masters in Science and a doctorate degree in Operations Research Systems Analyst (ORSA) from the Naval Postgraduate School, as well as a Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and other distinctions. Upon reading an article by Schuyler Cammann of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, Dr. Hugus discovered Chinese rank badges and took it upon himself to expand the canon of English-language scholarship on this topic. Since then, he has published Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank (2000, co-authored with Beverley Jackson) and Chinese Rank Badges: Symbols of Power, Wealth, and Intellect in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2022). Over the course of his scholarship, Dr. Hugus and his wife, Nancy, have develop a distinguished collection of Chinese rank badges, textiles, and other works of art.