Anonymous painting depicting court ladies with children at play in a palace garden in the style of the Ming masters

Description:

China, 18th century
111 x 39 cm (154 x 57 cm R.)
Ink and delicate colours on silk, framed under glass in a patterned silk mount. A fine painting executed in the meticulous court-style brushwork (Gongbi), belonging to the traditional genres of beautiful women (shinü) and playing children (yingxi). The central composition depicts two elegantly dressed ladies seated at a stone table with two small children, set against a decorative screen depicting a river landscape, behind which rises a monumental rock adorned with white magnolias. At the lower area, the scene completed by an ornate rock from which vibrant peonies bloom in shades of white, pink, and brilliant red.
From a private collection in East Germany, acquired in the 1970s - Traces of age, slightly wear, partiall age damages
This work reflects the stylistic and thematic lineage of celebrated Ming Dynasty masters like Qiu Ying, who popularized vibrant scenes capturing domestic prosperity, fertility symbols, and the poised lives of palace beauties