ticketsMember | Make a donation

Panel with boys at play

17th century
Not on view
This large polychrome silk tapestry features a motif called “the hundred boys,” an expanded version of children at play, to express the desire for a prosperous family. Little boys (eighty-three, to be exact) engage in various activities, such as archery, boating, falconry, fishing, horseback riding, kite flying, music making, playing with a ball, and reading. Each child is woven in a different posture with simple but fluid outlines, which required not only great skill but also an artistic sensibility. Panels like this usually served as wall decoration in elite houses.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 清 緙絲百子圖
  • Title: Panel with boys at play
  • Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
  • Date: 17th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Silk, metal thread, and feather thread tapestry (kesi)
  • Dimensions: Overall: 89 × 68 3/4 in. (226.1 × 174.6 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2011
  • Object Number: 2011.158
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Seated Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Infinite Compassion, Gilt copper alloy, Tibet or Mongolia
Seated Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Infinite Compassion
Tibet or Mongolia
17th century
Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati), Distemper with gold on cloth, Central Tibet
Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Pure Land (Sukhavati)
Central Tibet
ca. 1700
The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Three: Ji'nan to Mount Tai, Wang Hui and assistants Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Three: Ji'nan to Mount Tai
Wang Hui
datable to 1698
Woman’s ceremonial robe, Silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin, China
Woman’s ceremonial robe
China
first half 18th century
Vase with landscape scenes , Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue (Jingdezhen ware), China

Vase with landscape scenes

China
late 17th century

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.