Figures

Lo  Ping,   (Lianfeng),  1733 - 1799,  Qing  Dynasty
Hanging   scroll,   ink  and   slight  colour  on   paper,
96cm  by  46cm.

Lo  Ping   was  a  painter  of  the  Yangzhou  School,  one  of  its  so-
called  "Eight  Eccentrics".

This   work   depicts  three  figures,   the  central   bald-headed,   in
a  flowing  cape-like  drapery  resembling  a   monk,   gazing  down
at  a  globular  container  in  his  hand.   A  young  attendant  beside
him  holds  his  long  staff  while a  third  figure,   standing  a  little
in  front  and  to  the  right  of  him,   holds  a  mass  of  nondescript
material   and   looking   intently   skywards   at   a   pair   of   birds
frolicking   in   mid-air,   either   having   just   released   them   or
coaxing  them  to  return.