The Nine Elders of Fragrant Hill

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Maker(s)
Artist: Formerly attributed to Ma Xingzu (active ca. 1131-1162)
Historical period(s)
Southern Song dynasty, mid-12th-13th century
Medium
Ink and color on silk
Dimensions
H x W (image): 27.1 x 217.2 cm (10 11/16 x 85 1/2 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1982.35
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Handscroll

Keywords
bamboo, celebration, China, go, pine tree, scholar, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), waterfall
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

This handscroll depicts a party hosted on May 1, 845, by the poet Bai Juyi (772-846) for his friends at his garden estate on Fragrant Hill outside the capital of Luoyang. Shortly afterwards, the group formed a seniors' club, which inspired social gatherings of elderly scholars for more than a thousand years. In this section of the scroll, the tipsily dancing figure wearing a crown of leaves may portray the poet Bai Juyi, who is welcoming his guests. The figures are portrayed in a densely planted, rocky landscape, where old pine trees both create a sense of space and frame the figures as they amuse themselves in their cultivated surroundings.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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