南宋 佚名 洞天論道圖 團扇|Conversation in a cave
13th century
Medium
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 9 3/4 × 9 15/16 in. (24.8 × 25.2 cm) Mat: 15 1/2 × 15 1/2 in. (39.4 × 39.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
From the Collection of A. W. Bahr, Purchase, Fletcher Fund, 1947
Accession Number
47.18.30
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite fan painting, titled *Conversation in a Cave* (洞天論道圖 團扇), dates to the 13th century during China's Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Originally a folding fan, it has beenounted as an album leaf a common practice to preserve these delicate objects. Rendered in ink and color on silk, the work captures an intimate scene of men gathered in a cave amid trees, evoking scholarly discourse—likely "discussing the Dao" in mystical "cave heaven," a Daoist concept of hidden paradises inhabited by immortals. Southern Song art reached new heights of refinement, blending literati ideals with...