# Envoys Presenting Tribute

- By: Su Liupeng (Artist unknown ; spurious signature of Su Liupeng)
- Date: Qing dynasty (1644–1911), about 1850
- Medium: Handscroll; ink on silk
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 34.9 × 355 cm (13 3/4 × 139 13/16 in.)
- Culture: China
- Credit line: Gift of Charles C. Haffner III
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/149075)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/6c56d92c-45f8-1117-13d4-6eb9b6d5369e/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In this scroll, envoys from abroad offer tributes to the Chinese imperial court. These foreign representatives carry precious objects, such as coral and decorative rocks, and bring with them rare animals, including a lion and a fantastical creature called a qilin. These unique gifts evoke abundance from distant lands, and this vision of harmony and successful exchange suggests that riches from across the world naturally flow toward a well-ordered realm. It affirms the ruler’s supreme mandate and China’s commercial vitality.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0