ticketsMember | Make a donation

Two eagles

dated 1702
Not on view
After decades spent concealing his identity as a descendant of the Ming royal house, Bada Sharen, at the age of seventy-six, seems in this forceful depiction of eagles to be declaring his proud defiance of Manchu Qing rule. There is no immediate precedent for such imagery; instead, the painting harks back to the powerful representations of eagles and hawks created by the early Ming court artist Lin Liang (ca. 1416–1480). Lin's heroic birds are emblems of strength and courage suitable for presentation to military officials. Bada, a fervent Ming loyalist, has personalized this imagery, transforming the conventional symbolism into an expression of brave confrontation and unfaltering loyalty, his noble birds standing sentinel over a landscape now occupied by foreign conquerors

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 清 朱耷 (八大山人) 二鷹圖 軸
  • Title: Two eagles
  • Artist: Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) (Chinese, 1626–1705)
  • Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
  • Date: dated 1702
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 73 3/4 x 35 1/2 in. (187.3 x 90.2 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 122 3/4 x 42 1/2 in. (311.8 x 108 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 122 3/4 x 46 1/2 in. (311.8 x 118.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Oscar L. Tang Family, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.721
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 7635. Two Eagles

7635. Two Eagles

0:00
0:00
We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Letter by Li Zhi, Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese, Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on paper, China
Letter by Li Zhi
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
dated 1702
After Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering Collection", Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
After Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering Collection"
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
ca. 1694–96
Album of miscellaneous paintings, Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese, Album of twelve paintings; ink wash on paper, China
Album of miscellaneous paintings
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
Fish, Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Returned to lender
Fish
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
17th century
Landscape, Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese, Album of twelve leaves; ink and color on paper, China
Returned to lender
Landscape
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
datable to 1698

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.