Road to Shu

Cleveland Museum of Art

Road to Shu

Yuan YaoLinkedCulture matchlcp-6abeae0b381d

Date
1743
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Culture
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Department
Chinese Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
357163

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Few works by the Yuan workshops in Yangzhou present a continuous composition of such monumental scale as this hanging scroll. Road to Shu (in Sichuan province) depicts the trade of goods over long distances and through mountainous terrain. Busy travelers lead mules over footbridges, mountain paths wind along steep slopes, and soaring bridges connect peaks divided by deep gorges. The Yuan studios produced paintings to decorate the residences of wealthy Yangzhou salt merchants and princely palaces. The title Road to Shu refers to the historical drama of the flight of Tang emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712–56) to Sichuan in the aftermath of the An Lushan Rebellion (755–63). At the same time, the scenery alludes to Anhui, the mountainous native country of many of the salt merchants and their trade routes in northern parts of the empire.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Provenance
May 31, 2007: (Poly Art Auctions, Beijing, China, 31 May 2007 sale) | December 5, 2010: (Beijing Council International Auction Co., Ltd., "Classical Chinese Paintings," 5 December 2010, lot 0998, sold to the Moss Gallery) | 2010–2019: (Sydney L. Moss, Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | March 20, 2014: (Offered at Sotheby’s New York, Fine Classical Chinese Painting & Calligraphy, 20 March 2014, lot 565. Unsold.) | 2019–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Chinese landscape paintings
    Chinese landscape paintings

    These are predominantly Chinese paintings from the Ming, Qing, Yuan, and Song dynasties that depict natural landscape scenes including mountains, rivers, forests, and human settlements using traditional media such as ink

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