Children playing in the palace garden

Unidentified artist

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.

Children playing in the palace garden, Unidentified artist Chinese, active late 13th–15th century, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China

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Children playing in the palace garden, Unidentified artist Chinese, active late 13th–15th century, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China
Children playing in the palace garden, Unidentified artist Chinese, active late 13th–15th century, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China

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