Mice and Fruit after Qian Xuan

Connoisseurship, the ability to judge the authenticity and quality of artworks on the basis of visual examination, is one of the great challenges for those who collect or study Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Debate surrounds many famous works in important collections around the world. In fact these debates were often part of the entertainment at Elegant Gatherings, during which diverse opinions might be freely shared. Works like this handscroll would be perfect subjects for such debates. This work bears the characters for the signature of Qian Xuan, a famous Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) painter of flower-and-bird subjects. It is the opinion of many experts, however, that the piece must have been made later.

The sumptuous colors of the fruits and the exquisite brushwork combining clear outlines with colored vegetable and mineral dyes derive from techniques which began to be practiced at the imperial court during the 900s. Qian Xuan, whose name appears on this version, specialized in this technique. Although the scroll bears the signature of Qian Xuan and contains three colophons by artists living during the 1300s, based on its dramatic presentation of the subject and its rich colors, it is most likely a copy dating from the late Ming or early Qing dynasty. The auspicious symbols seen in this work are also consistent with a later date.