Year early 12th century | Artist Zhang Xuan | |
Type Ink, color and gold on silk Dimensions 37.7 cm × 466 cm (14.8 in × 183 in) Location Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States Similar Five‑colored parakeet on a blos, Auspicious Cranes, Pigeon on a Peach Branch, An Elegant Party (detail), Nine Dragons | ||
Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk is a silk painting attributed to Emperor Huizong. It is the only extant copy of a lost original by Chinese artist Zhang Xuan. The painting depicts an annual imperial ceremony of silk production, held in spring. It shows three groups of court ladies at work. Viewing from left, one figure sitting on the ground is preparing a thread and the other are sewing while sitting on a stool. The right group of four ladies are pounding the silk with wooden poles. The group stretching and ironing the silk and the right group which is pounding the silk with wooden poles are depicted in a diamond-shaped formation to produce the feeling of a three-dimensional space.
Originally kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing, the painting was acquired by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in August 1912.