The Shanghai Museum holds a number of national treasures, and make sure to check out China's provincial museums as well.
Wang Shimin, Cloud Capped Mountains and Misty Riverside
Wang Shimin reimagines the past in this Qing dynasty landscape
Zhao Zhiqian, Flowers Album
Peonies, plum blossoms, radishes, and cabbages are all depicted in these calligraphic ink paintings
Wang Shishen, Garden scene album leaves
These garden scenes are examples of how professional artists in Qing-dynasty China made a living
Ren Xiong, Self-Portrait
Ren Xiong's captivating self-portrait tells us a great deal about the principles of Chinese painting, the roles of self-portraiture and portraiture, and the canon of Chinese art.
Miniature furniture and figurines in a Ming tomb
Mini furniture and figurines give us a tiny look into Ming dynasty life
The search for immortality: The Tomb of Lady Dai
Upon its discovery, Lady Dai’s tomb was in a remarkable state of preservation with wooden objects and silks in near perfect condition, as though immune to the ravages of time
Tang Yue ware
This begonia-shaped porcelain bowl attempts to achieve purity and perfection in its shape, thinness, and glaze
Ding ware bowl, Northern Song dynasty
This porcelain bowl with reeds and geese for decoration has a metal rim where the bowl couldn't be glazed
Attributed to Zhang Zeduan, Along the River during Qingming Festival, handscroll
Along the River during Qingming Festival offers a rare glimpse of the thriving commercial activity of medieval China.
Emperor Huizong, Auspicious Cranes, handscroll
Emperor Huizong's Auspicious Cranes records natural phenomena that would be interpreted as a good omen for the dynasty.
Gu Hongzhong, The Night Revels of Han Xizai, handscroll
Gu Hongzhong’s The Night Revels of Han Xizai offers an intriguing portrayal of a court minister testing the bounds of Confucian propriety during the Five Dynasties
Wang Mian, Plum Blossoms in Ink
Painting and poetry among friends during Mongol rule in Yuan dynasty China
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