Artwork

明/清佚名賣花郎冊頁|Flower Vendor

明/清佚名賣花郎冊頁|Flower Vendor is an ink painting. It dates from 1639 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This album leaf, executed in ink and color on silk, depicts a solitary figure engaged in the trade of flowers.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The figure's attire and the setting suggest a commercial activity tied to popular culture rather than elite life.

The album leaf depicts a street vendor carrying a shoulder pole with baskets of flowers, a scene associated with the urban commerce of seasonal blooms in late imperial China. The figure's attire and the setting suggest a commercial activity tied to popular culture rather than elite life. The flowers themselves function as both commodity and symbol of ephemeral beauty, aligning with broader Ming–Qing visual conventions that used flora to evoke fleeting time and human labor.

The composition's focus on a humble vendor elevates quotidian life into a subject worthy of representation, reflecting broader genre traditions in which anonymous figures and everyday trades were recorded with quiet dignity.

Technique & Style

Created in 1639, this album leaf utilizes ink and color applied to a silk support. The work measures 24.4 cm in height and 19.7 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece functions as a genre scene, depicting a male figure associated with flowers. The application of pigment on silk reflects traditional methods for small-scale pictorial leaves intended for album compilation.

History & Provenance

Flower Vendor is an album leaf painted in ink and color on silk, dated 1639, created in China by an anonymous artist during the Ming–Qing transition. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on display. The painting depicts a flower vendor, reflecting the genre-scene interests of the period.

It measures 24.4 cm in height and 19.7 cm in width. Earlier ownership prior to museum acquisition is not documented.

Overview

This album leaf, executed in ink and color on silk, depicts a solitary figure engaged in the trade of flowers. The composition is confined to a modest interior space, where the vendor, dressed in traditional attire, stands beside an arrangement of vividly rendered blossoms. The work exemplifies the delicate brushwork and subtle palette typical of Chinese album painting.