《Dao Lian Tu》 Precious Stamps - A Glimpse into Tang Dynasty Life
《Dao Lian Tu》 (The Silk-Pounding Scene) is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese figure painting created by Tang Dynasty artist Zhang Xuan. The surviving copy, a meticulous reproduction by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, was once housed in the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan). After the palace was looted and burned in 1860, this silk scroll (37 cm high, 145.3 cm long) was lost overseas. 1912 Okakura Tenshin, head of the Asian Art Department at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, acquired it from a Beijing noble and officially added it to the museum’s collection that August, marking it as one of China’s lost treasures.
This long scroll vividly portrays twelve figures in three distinct scenes of daily labor: pounding silk, threading, and ironing. The first group shows four women rhythmically beating silk with wooden mallets. The second captures two women—one arranging threads on a mat, another sewing on a stool. The third depicts several women ironing, with a playful young girl darting under the fabric. The detailed costumes and lively expressions showcase the elegance of Tang Dynasty court life and the artistry of traditional gong painting.
Highlights
Peak of Imperial Artistry, All in One Set
2013 Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk Special Stamps (3 pieces, 44×33mm)
Depicting Tang court women in "pounding silk, ironing, and sewing" from Zhang Xuan’s original work, hailed as the "epitome of ancient Chinese genre painting," showcasing the domestic aesthetics of High Tang women.
2013 Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk Souvenir Sheet (160×158mm)
A grand-scale reproduction on silk-textured paper, using mineral pigment replication to preserve the delicate brushwork of Tang工笔重彩 (meticulous heavy-color painting).
2015 Ladies with Silk Fans Painting Special Stamps (3 pieces, 50×36mm)
Zhou Fang’s masterpiece portraying lavish, languid court ladies. The "voluptuous Tang style" profoundly influenced East Asian art for millennia and is recognized by the British Museum as an "icon of Oriental aesthetics."
Exclusive Museum-Grade Postcards
Hairpin Flower Ladies Painting Postcard: A reproduction of the world’s only surviving Tang ladies' painting, a treasure of Liaoning Provincial Museum, capturing the grace of High Tang nobility.
Tianshui Copy of Zhang Xuan’s Court Ladies Postcard: A Song Dynasty replica preserving Tang artistry, valued for historical and artistic research.