Autumn foliage and birds

Formerly attributed to Cui Bai (active mid- to late 11th century) · 14th-15th century

A magpie is perched atop a tree to which a few sparse autumn leaves still cling. Two songbirds sit on the thorns below. The composition of this unsigned painting is based on Song dynasty (906-1279) conventions, but on the whole it is too open and loosely organized to be an exact copy. The relatively tight, descriptive brushwork dates stylistically to the Yuan (1279-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644).