This album is a ink, the Chinese picture made to be unrolled or unpinned a section at a time rather than seen all at once. the Han painter’s hand that made it assumed a viewer in motion.
A handscroll rewards the journey; The subject is the excuse. What the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) painter sold was a way of looking, disciplined and unhurried.
Han objects carried the vocabulary of an empire learning to picture its own order in bronze and jade.
A album like this was made to be handed on, not framed forever. The ink still asks you to slow down, which is the whole point.
Object details
| Name | Ink album (冷枚画罗汉图册) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00005185-11/20 |
| Technique | Ink |
| Period | Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 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 Digital Collection.