The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

A hanging scroll in muted brown tones depicts three water buffalo near a rocky bank. In the foreground, a figure sits atop the buffalo on our left, while the animal on our right faces inward. Behind them, a gnarled tree with twisting, bare branches grows from the low slope. Subtle washes define the animals' heavy forms and the rugged terrain. Chinese calligraphy is visible in the upper right corner.

Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscape

1200s

Guo Min

(Chinese, mid-late 1200s)
China, Qixian, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Hanging scroll; ink on silk
Image: 91 x 56 cm (35 13/16 x 22 1/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 193 x 75.4 cm (76 x 29 11/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1999.216.2
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Tending water buffalos has traditionally been the task of young boys and can still be seen in rural areas of Southern China today.

Description

Herdboys tend their buffalo in a bucolic landscape by a winding stream. Guo Min emphasizes the massive forms and mighty power of the animals, transforming them into forces of nature.

The poem on this scroll reads: "Together, they wade through the middle of the stream, Mindless of perils in the journey. The grass grows tall in the village ahead, While the mist and rain spread far and wide."
  • Shokado Shojo 松花堂昭乗 [1584–1639], Japan
    Otokoyama Hachiman-gu 男山八幡宮, Kyoto, Japan
    Baron Morimura Kaisaku 男爵 森村開作 [1873–1962], Japan
    ?–1999
    (Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1999–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kokka no. 355 (1919) pp. 202-206. pp. 202-206
    Harada, Kinjirō 原田謹次郎. Nihon genzai Shina meiga mokuroku日本現在支那名畫目錄. Tōkyō: Ōtsuka Kōgeisha, 1938. p. 124
    Kaikodo (Autumn 1999), no. 2, pp. 94-95, 246-49. pp. 94-95, 246-49
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 97-99
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Mentioned: p. 99
  • China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 28, 2014-January 7, 2015).
  • {{cite web|title=Herdboys and Buffalo in Landscape|url=false|author=Guo Min|year=1200s|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.216.2