Attributed to Qian Xuan (ca. 1235 - after 1301), Lady Cai Wenji Parting from her Child, China, ca. 17th ct., Round fan, framed under glass, 28 x 26,6 cm, ink and colors on silk. Unsigned, four seals of the Imperial collection of the Qianlong (reg. 1736-1795) and Jiaqing- (reg. 1796-1820) Emperors: "Shiqu baoji", "Qianlong Yulan zhi bao", "Qianlong jianshang", "Baoji sanbian". Original title slip on the back of the mounting: "Parting from the Son, by Qian Xuan of the Yuan dynasty." Paper with typed note: "From an album with twelve paintings on silk from different periods, 14th century." - Property from a South German private collection - Lady Cai Wenji was a Chinese scholar-poet who was captured by the Huns in A.D. 195 and was released to return to China twelve years later. Meanwhile she had married a nomad and got two children. The painting shows the moment of her parting from her nomad husband and one of her two children, a favorite subject in Chinese genre and narrative painting. To the right a nomad is seen on horseback, on the left two women are ready to take the child from her. The fine painting is of good quality but of later execution. Qian Xuan was a well known literati painter of the Yuan dynasty who mainly painted flowers and landscapes but also did some figure paintings of historic subjects. A restricted figure style with fine lines and individual face expressions is often connected with him.