Skip to Main Content

The Knickknack Peddler

嬰戲貨郎圖

1212

Li Song 李嵩

(Chinese, active c. 1190-c. 1230)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Image: 24.1 x 26 cm (9 1/2 x 10 1/4 in.); with mat: 33.3 x 40.5 cm (13 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1963.582
Location: not on view
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

There is a skull, upside down, near the top of the left basket.

Description

The court artist Li Song from Hangzhou excelled in meticulous depictions of children, peddlers, and their various goods. Here, he captures a dramatic scene of children attacking a snake with a stick and stone. The peddler rushes toward the children, leaving his merchandise unattended. Painted during the reign of emperor Ningzong, the drama unfolding around vulnerable children may allude to Ningzong’s nine sons who died young, leaving him without a direct male descendant.
The Knickknack Peddler

The Knickknack Peddler

1212

Li Song

(Chinese, active c. 1190-c. 1230)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.