Panel with boys at play
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.
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