1999.230.1: A Gathering of Scholars in a Garden ('Touhu tu')

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1999.230.1

People

You Qiu 尤裘, Chinese (active c. 1540 - 1590)

Title

A Gathering of Scholars in a Garden ('Touhu tu')

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

hanging scroll, painting

Date

second half 16th century

Places

Creation Place: East Asia, China

Period

Ming dynasty, 1368-1644

Culture

Chinese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/189098

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper; with signature of the artist reading "Wuxia You Qiu zhi"; and with seals of the artist

Dimensions

painting proper: H. 132.1 x W. 43.5 cm (52 x 17 1/8 in.)
mounting, including cord and roller ends: H. 242.6 x W. 66.7 cm (95 1/2 x 26 1/4 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• Signed: Wuxia You Qiu zhi; seals of the artist
• seal: Upper Left:
  1) "Wuxia You Qiu" -- artist's seal (square, intaglio)
  2) "Fengqiu" -- artist's seal (rectangular, relief)
  
  Lower Left:
  1) "Fengqiu zi" -- artist's seal (square, intaglio)
  2) "Lu [?] tuo guan" -- artist's seal (square, intaglio)
  
  Lower Right:
  1) "Wang shi Li Qian ceng guan" -- seal of C.C. Wang (square, relief)
  2) "Mai An jianding" -- seal of Li Ruiqing (square, intaglio)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Richard Bryant Hobart, Cambridge, MA (by 1963), by inheritance; to Mabel Hobart Wentworth, Washington, DC (1963–1969), sold; through [Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York (12 December 1969); to [Walter Hochstadter, New York, 1969], sold; to David Berg, New York (after 1969–1999), bequest; to Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, 1999.

Notes:
1. Richard Bryant Hobart (1885–1963), Harvard College Class of 1906
2. Mabel "Muffie" Hobart Wentworth Brandon Cabot (b. 1936), daughter of Richard Bryant Hobart and Janet Elliott Wulsin (1894–1963)
3. David Berg (1904–1999)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David Berg, Esq.

Accession Year

1999

Object Number

1999.230.1

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Painted by You Qiu late in the sixteenth century, this elegant scroll depicts seven scholars at leisure in a garden, distinguished by a bamboo balustrade, a towering rock, a wutong (Firmiana simplex) tree, and a banana tree. The scholars enjoy the pleasures of a summer afternoon: four scholars, relaxing around a table, sip wine and converse in front of a screen, while three scholars in the foreground compete in a game of touhu, or "pitch pot," an ancient arrow-tossing game. A woman bearing a duster observes the gentlemen, and eight young boys, their hair in topknots, attend them.

The son-in-law of the literati painter Qiu Ying (d. 1552), You Qiu was a member of the most elite artistic coterie of his day, the Wu school, which emphasized elegant composition, delicate colors, and refined brushwork. He is best remembered for his figure paintings in baimiao, or "plain drawing," technique, which eschews color in favor of sure lines and occasional ink washes. Taking inspiration from Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) paintings, You Qiu's figural compositions possess an antique flavor that sets them apart from the work of his Ming dynasty (1368-1644) contemporaries.

Publication History

• Victoria Contag and C. C. Wang (Chi-Chien Wang) 王己千, Seals of Chinese Painters and Collectors of the Ming and Ch'ing Periods, Hong Kong University Press (Hong Kong, 1966), pp. 633-634
• The Richard Bryant Hobart Collection of Chinese Ceramics & Paintings, Part Two, auct. cat., Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. (New York, 1969), pp. 64-65, no. 260
• Osvald Sirén, Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles, Hacker Art Books (New York, 1973), p. 274
• James Cuno, ed., A Decade of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions by the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, Mass., Spring 2000), p. 8
• Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums Annual Report 1999-2000 (Cambridge, MA, 2001), p. 9
• Stephen Little, Where the Truth Lies: The Art of Qiu Ying, exh. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books Prestel (Los Angeles, 2020), pp. 142-145, fig. 37

Exhibition History

• A Decade of Collecting: Asian Acquisitions 1990-1999, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 03/11/2000 - 11/05/2000
• Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/06/2002 - 01/05/2003
• Rocks, Mountains, Landscapes and Gardens: The Essence of East Asian Painting ('04), Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/2004 - 08/01/2004
• A Compelling Legacy: Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/24/2004 - 03/20/2005
• Cultivating Virtue: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/08/2006 - 04/08/2007

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