Artwork Page for Children at Play

Details / Information for Children at Play

Children at Play

嬰戲圖

1508

Xia Kui 夏葵

(Chinese, active c. 1405–1445)
Culture
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Measurements
Painting: 62.5 x 113.7 cm (24 5/8 x 44 3/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 214 x 137 cm (84 1/4 x 53 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles L. Freer 1915.110
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

In the foreground on the right are three boys playing a kind of blind man’s bluff.

Description

Sixteen children engage in scholarly, religious, and military activities, representing the popular “one hundred boys” theme expressing the wish for abundant, successful male offspring. Such paintings conveying auspicious wishes were often displayed during the New Year festival season.

Two older boys wear small crowns with red tassels. Another child with a mask holds a brush in one hand, a rice measure in the other. He stands on a low table imitating Kuixing, the God of Examinations and servant to the God of Literature.
A hanging scroll depicts sixteen children with light skin tones and partially shaved heads playing against a tan background. On the left, children in colorful robes play drums and dance on a stool. Centrally, a group gathers around a large goldfish bowl. To the right, children play blind man's buff and hold a lantern near a miniature garden. Vertical calligraphy appears at the upper left. The robes feature vibrant red, blue, and green patterns.

Children at Play

1508

Xia Kui

(Chinese, active c. 1405–1445)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

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