The handscroll is ink, and the medium decides the pace. Ink and colour on silk or paper ask to be read slowly, the eye led rather than struck.
The handscroll carries the Ming habit of quotation: old masters borrowed, not copied. The picture is a conversation across centuries, and the ink keeps it polite.
The Ming court collected pictures as proof of cultivation. A handscroll on the wall or in the hand said the owner knew how to look, which was its own kind of power.
The picture is a small school in looking. Sinocra keeps it in view with more from The Palace Museum, and the shop carries the craft forward.
Object details
| Name | Ink handscroll (张择端清明上河图卷) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 新00087177 |
| Technique | Ink |
| Period | Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE) |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum collection.