Beverage Peddler and Fan Painter

This album leaf, a fine example of early Ming court painting, was formerly attributed to Li Song, the leading Southern Song-dynasty painter of toy peddlers. To the left of the square composition is a tea and cake seller who competes for the attention of several small boys with a painter of fans, who has set up his shop to the right, beneath a pair of gnarled pine trees.

The depiction of knickknack peddlers had become popular in the 12th century and developed as a genre in the Southern Song imperial academy. Typically in such compositions, one or more peddlers stand under a large tree in a garden setting, while many children gather around admiring, reaching for, playing with, or buying items.