Odes of the State of Bin: The Seventh Month

late 18th–early 19th century

Not on view

The album from which these leaves are drawn depicts moments from “The Seventh Month,” a lengthy poem from the Book of Odes about the yearly agricultural cycle. Using the bright blue-green mineral palette associated in Chinese painting with antiquity, the artist created vignettes of labor in tune with the land: the reaping of crops in the summer; the harvesting of ice in the winter; the performance of ritual offerings in the spring. In each of these scenes, small moments of human interaction share the stage with the drama of seasonal change.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Odes of the State of Bin: The Seventh Month
Artist: Fei Qinghu (Fei Zhaoyang) (Chinese, active late 18th--early 19th century)
Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date: late 18th–early 19th century
Culture: China
Medium: Album of twenty leaves; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image (each): 12 in. × 10 3/4 in. (30.5 × 27.3 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2021
Object Number: 2021.286a–t
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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