Mynah Birds
A myriad of mynah birds set against the gold and blue of a shoreline is frozen in a moment in time. Although not native to Japan, within East Asian literary tradition mynah birds serve as emblems of honesty, independent thinking, and even resistance to unjust authority. Whether this work can be interpreted as political protest is impossible to know, but the unusual iconography, focusing on mynah birds to the exclusion of any other creature or even landscape elements, lends itself to such an interpretation. It also dates to an era when Japanese artists were reformulating Chinese modes of ink painting to create their own distinct pictures.
Artwork Details
- 叭々鳥図屏風
- Title: Mynah Birds
- Artist: Unidentified artist Japanese
- Period: Momoyama (1573–1615) or Edo (1615–1868) period
- Date: early 17th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each): 61 in. × 11 ft. 10 1/8 in. (155 × 361 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation and Anonymous Gifts, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.21.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Unidentified artist
19th century
Unidentified artist
Liu Songnian
Unidentified artist
Unidentified artist
Unidentified artist
Related Content
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.