Knickknack peddler
The image of a traveling salesman laden with wares was popular in premodern Chinese figure painting. While some examples show an elegant environment that suggests some kind of costume play in a palace, this is a more rustic scene, in which both the knickknack peddler and the mother wear humble, rumpled clothes. One can sense the anticipation among the four young children as they clamor for toys and snacks.
Artwork Details
- 元/明 佚名 貨郎嬰戲圖 扇頁
- Title: Knickknack peddler
- Artist: Unidentified artist Chinese, 13th–15th century
- Period: Yuan (1271–1368) to Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Date: 13th–15th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: 10 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (26.4 x 26.7 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Purchase, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1973
- Object Number: 1973.121.10
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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