Listening to the Qin by Candlelight
CultureChinese
Date17th century
MediumAlbum leaf; ink and color on silk
DimensionsOverall: 8 3/4 × 10 3/4 inches (22.23 × 27.31 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number34-271
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionAlbum painting of a seated man and woman with landscape screen in background, lamp in the foreground; man plays a stringed instrument.Gallery LabelOccasionally, talented
women passed down their stories in historical texts with help from their male
family members. A paper label mounted next to this painting identifies one
possible story behind this painting: Lady Wenji, who has a refined appreciation
of music. In this scene, she is the bejeweled woman seated next to her father,
who plays the qin, a zither-like instrument. When a string breaks while
her father is playing, she immediately recognizes the subtle change of
sound.
With Ju Ku
Chai, Peiping (modern-day Beijing), China, by April 25, 1934 [1]; Purchased
from Ju Ku Chai, through Laurence Sickman, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, MO, 1934. NOTES: [1] Sickman's purchase record, Nelson-Atkins Archives, RG80-15 William Rockhill Nelson Trust Office Files, box 1a, Art Invoices/Vouchers 1934.
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