94 x 48,5 cm Condition Touring Craftsmen. China, late Ming/early Qing dynasty. Hanging scroll, ink and light colours on silk. Unsigned, four collectors' seals: a round, probably imperial seal on top, three more seals on the lower right: "Collection of the Palace" (Neifu tushu), "Seal of Wen Boren" (Wen Boren yin), "Wang shi Shimin".-Beneath a bamboo grove, four craftsmen or peddlers carrying all kinds of tools on poles and in backpacks, are touring on the road. They are accompanied by a boy assistant carrying a wooden stool. The genre is similar to that of knickknack peddlers which was very popular during the Song dynasty. They carried a mass of playthings and sweets on poles while panniers and children with their mothers were strolling around them. Like these Song pictures, this one is done in extremely fine detail, on very fine and smooth silk.-Acquired at Klefisch, Cologne, 2nd Dec 1982, auction 23, no. 202-Minor restorations and damage due to age