OpenGLAM Pick of the Week: Gibbons at Play

OpenGLAM Pick of the Week showcases handpicked digitised cultural artefacts made available by Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums from around the world under an open license.

This is a painting of three gibbons playing made in 1427. Although it is a lovely scene, the painting quality itself is not exceptional compared to other Chinese art from that period. What is interesting, is that it was painted by the fifth emperor (1426-1436) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644): The Xuande Emperor, personal name Zhu Zhanji.

The Xuande Emperor was known as an accomplished painter, and favoured painting animals. Some of his art work is preserved in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (a division of Harvard Art Museum) in Cambridge. Robert D. Mowry, the curator of Chinese art at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, described him as “the only Ming emperor who displayed genuine artistic talent and interest.”

The emperor ruled for ten years over a remarkably peaceful time with no significant external or internal problems. He often ordered retrials that allowed thousands of innocent people to be released. Later historians have considered his reign to be the Ming dynasty’s golden age. When he died of illness in 1435, he was placed in the Ming Dynasty tomb, together with 11 of his consorts. These women had the option to hang themselves first using their own scarf, or to starve in the tomb while mourning the dead emperor.

Source: Wikipedia