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This
painting shows ten ladies of the inner court sitting
around a large rectangular table. Some enjoy tea, while
others drink wine. The four figures at the far end seem
to be responsible for playing music and livening up the
atmosphere. The instruments that they hold, from left to
right, are bamboo pipes, zither, lute, and flute. The
two standing figures are servant girls; the one in back
plays a clapper to keep beat. The melodic and elegant
music almost seems to intoxicate the figures, judging
from their expressions. Even the small dog under the
table seems undisturbed.
This
work bears no seal or signature of the artist. However,
the original title slip reads, ¡§Picture of A Palace
Concert by a Yuan [1279-1368] Artist.¡¨ Close
examination of the hairstyles shows that some are combed
in one direction on top (so-called ¡§falling
topknots¡¨), while others are combed in two directions
and tied into knots by the ears (¡§side knots¡¨). With
different hair ornaments, one of them even wears a
¡§floral headdress.¡¨ These all correlate with
ladies¡¦ fashions in the T'ang dynasty. The woven
bamboo-top table, cusped crescent stools, winged wine
cups, and the way the lute is being played with a large
pick are all in accord with late T'ang customs. For
these reasons, this painting ought to be reattributed to
the T'ang.
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