Artwork

明/清佚名倣宋徽宗明皇訓儲圖摹本卷|Copy of Tang Ming Huang Instructing the Prince

明/清佚名倣宋徽宗明皇訓儲圖摹本卷|Copy of Tang Ming Huang Instructing the Prince is an ink painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist After Emperor Huizong. It dates from 1639 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This handscroll, titled Copy of Tang Ming Huang Instructing the Prince, is an ink and color painting on silk created in 1639.

About this work

Technique & Style

The piece functions as a copy attributed to an anonymous artist working after Emperor Huizong, adhering to the formal traditions of Chinese history painting.

Created in 1639, this work is a handscroll executed in ink and color on a silk support. The piece functions as a copy attributed to an anonymous artist working after Emperor Huizong, adhering to the formal traditions of Chinese history painting. Visually, the scroll measures 31.4 cm in height and 108.6 cm in width, depicting figures of men alongside objects such as books within a narrative composition.

The medium and dimensions reflect standard practices for courtly or scholarly handscrolls of the period, prioritizing detailed figural representation and narrative continuity across the silk surface.

History & Provenance

Created in 1639 in China, this handscroll is an anonymous work executed in ink and color on silk. Although the piece is attributed as a copy after Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, depicting the historical scene of Tang Ming Huang instructing the prince, the actual artist remains unidentified. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

It carries no published accession number but is inventoried under the title Copy of Tang Ming Huang Instructing the Prince, dated 1639. No exhibitions of this handscroll are recorded in the available sources.

Overview

This handscroll, titled Copy of Tang Ming Huang Instructing the Prince, is an ink and color painting on silk created in 1639. It depicts a historical scene where an older emperor imparts wisdom to a younger prince. The work is a later rendition, made by an anonymous artist, and consciously imitates the refined style associated with Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty.

Subject & Meaning

The painting illustrates Emperor Ming Huang of the Tang dynasty engaging in a private moment of instruction with his son. This intimate scene, showing the emperor in flowing robes under a tree, emphasizes the transmission of knowledge and moral guidance within the imperial family. The composition preserves the essence of a much older, now-lost 8th-century original.