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Children playing in the palace garden

late 14th–15th century
Not on view
Twenty-two boys play games, ride hobbyhorses (a toy that may have been invented in China), and enjoy a large masonry slide in the corner of an imperial garden. Children at play was a popular subject among artists of the earlier Song Imperial Painting Academy. Judging from the costumes and representational techniques, this painting was most likely executed in the first years of the Ming dynasty, when the imperial court revived the styles and subjects of the academy.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 元末明初　佚名　絹本設色　嬰戯圖　軸
  • Title: Children playing in the palace garden
  • Artist: Unidentified artist Chinese, active late 13th–15th century
  • Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
  • Date: late 14th–15th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 54 7/8 x 30 in. (139.4 x 76.2 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 113 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. (288.3 x 92.7 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 113 1/2 x 39 in. (288.3 x 99.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.150
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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