Red Thread Steals a Gold Box

Maker(s)
Artist: Formerly attributed to Zhou Wenjing (傳)周文靖 (active 1430s-1460s)
Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, 19th century
Medium
Ink and color on silk
Dimensions
H x W (image): 1.5 x 39 cm (9/16 x 15 3/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1911.264
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

Keywords
China, portrait, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), woman
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

Based on the box she is carryong, the woman depicted in the painting is not the famous Mulan, but rather Red Thread (Hong Xian 紅線), heroine of a famous Tang dynasty story (quanqi), translated in The Golden Casket: Chinese Novellas of Two Millenia (Penguin, ), pp. 148–55.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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