Monkey Picking Herbs
Watercolour
ca. 1785
ca. 1785
Place of origin |
Part of a series of illustrations showing the stages of the cultivation and preparation of tea. This romantic and fantastical landscape, where two men and a woman are sending a group of trained monkeys up a steep arched rock to gather herbs for flavouring the tea. The composition, subject matter, palette and handling all owe little to Chinese conceptions of 'fine art'. One has only to look at the cloud formations which fill the sky, unknown in Chinese painting or decoration of ceramics, to see how far the workshop has discarded the native traditions of pictorial representation.
Object details
Object type | |
Title | Monkey Picking Herbs |
Materials and techniques | watercolour on paper |
Physical description | Part of a series of illustrations showing the stages of the cultivation and preparation of tea. This romantic and fantastical landscape, where two men and a woman are sending a group of trained monkeys up a steep arched rock to gather herbs for flavouring the tea. The composition, subject matter, palette and handling all owe little to Chinese conceptions of 'fine art'. One has only to look at the cloud formations which fill the sky, unknown in Chinese painting or decoration of ceramics, to see how far the workshop has discarded the native traditions of pictorial representation. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | Purchased from D. T. Thomson, accessioned in 1898. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
Subjects depicted | |
Collection | |
Accession number | D.1075-1898 |
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Record created | December 15, 1999 |
Record URL |
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