Birds and Flowers
By the tenth century, bird-and-flower painting was an established genre in East Asian art. In Korea, folding screens depicting this subject became prevalent in the eighteenth century and continued to be popular into the twentieth century. Now a set, these paintings would have originally been one screen with eight panels. Pairs of ducks, peacocks, chickens, and mythological phoenixes appear among flowers and fruits that allude to romance and fertility. The cranes, pine tree, lingzhi mushrooms, bamboo, and lotus flowers are also auspicious symbols of longevity and virtue. The eight panels can also be read as a journey through the four seasons, starting with cranes that herald a new year sunrise over a pine tree and ending with phoenixes amid autumnal foliage.
Artwork Details
- 작자미상 화조도 조선
- Title: Birds and Flowers
- Artist: Unidentified artist
- Period: Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
- Date: 19th century
- Culture: Korea
- Medium: Eight-panel screen mounted as two sets of four panels; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Each panel: 41 15/16 × 26 3/8 in. (106.5 × 67 cm)
Each set, closed: D. 2 3/16 in. (5.6 cm) - Classification: Screens
- Credit Line: Gift of the children of Lea R. Sneider, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.89.5a, b
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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