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Chinese Handscroll

Figure 38 Portrait scroll of seven generations of the same family, Qing dynasty (1644-1911);
artist: Unknown Chinese;
Handscroll, ink, and color on silk, 13 x 175 3/8 in. (33 x 445.5 cm);
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York), Gift of Edward Wells, 1955, 55.215 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Rights Reserved.

Object/Work🔺

  • Catalog Level:🔺 item (value type: controlled list)
  • Type:🔺 handscroll (value type: authority)

Classification🔺

  • Terms:🔺
    paintings
    Asian Art (value type: controlled list)

Titles or Names🔺

  • Text:🔺 Portrait scroll of seven generations of the same family (value type: free text)
    Preference: preferred (value type: controlled list)
    Type: repository (value type: controlled list)

Creation🔺

  • Creator Description:🔺 unknown Chinese (value type: free text)

  • Identity:🔺 unknown Chinese (_value type: authority)
    Role:🔺 painter

  • Creation Date:🔺 ca. 1725/1730 (value type: free text)
    Earliest:🔺 1720 Latest:🔺 1735 (value type: controlled format)

Style/Period/Group/Movement

  • Indexing Terms: Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) (value type: authority)

Measurements🔺

  • Dimensions Description:🔺 comprises 6 vertical panels, each composed of 2 to four columns; overall: 33 x 445.5 cm (13 in. x 175 3/8 inches) (value type: free text)

  • Extent: components Value: 6 Type: count
    Value: 33 Unit: cm Type: height
    Value: 445.5 Unit: cm Type: width (value type: controlled format and controlled lists)

Materials and Techniques🔺

  • Description:🔺 ink and color pigment on silk (value type: free text)

  • Material Name:
    ink Role: medium
    color pigment Role: medium
    silk Role: support (value type: authority)

Subject Matter🔺

  • Indexing Terms:🔺
    portraits (value type: authority)
    human figures
    male
    female
    family
    Ming Dynasty
    Qing Dynasty
    spirit tables (value type: authority)

Descriptive Note

  • Text: This handscroll, dating to the Qing dynasty, includes nineteen portraits from seven generations of a single family. Each generation’s patriarch, depicted with his wife, wives, or concubines, is preceeded by a label in the shape of a ritual “spirit tablet” used to house the spirit of the dead. The final tablet remains uninscribed. (value type: free text)

  • Citation: The Met Collection online (value type: authority)
    Page: accessed 15 July 2024 (value type: free text)

Current Location🔺

  • Repository Name/Geographic Location:🔺 The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York, United States) (value type: authority)
    Repository Numbers:🔺 55.215 (value type: free text)

NOTE: 🔺 indicates a core CDWA category.

Revised 23 July 2024
by Emily Benoff

Figure 38 Portrait scroll of seven generations of the same family, Qing dynasty (1644-1911);
artist: Unknown Chinese;
Handscroll, ink, and color on silk, 13 x 175 3/8 in. (33 x 445.5 cm);
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York), Gift of Edward Wells, 1955, 55.215 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Rights Reserved.