A hunting scene

Formerly attributed to Wang Meng 王蒙 (ca. 1308-1385) · 18th century

In this short handscroll, a Manchurian nobleman and his entourage are depicted in a lively fashion as they engage in various activities on their hunting excursion. The actions of the horses--from chasing to catching the quarry--are also well illustrated. Noticeably, the background is rendered in the manner of the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) landscape master Lan Ying (1585-ca. 1644), revealing an unusual combination of the men-and-horses genre and the later landscape tradition. This may suggest that at least two, if not more, artists collaborated on this painting.