Pink Orchid Cross-Stitch
date: label: Date
content: c. 1994
name: label: Artist
content: Ira Blount
notes: label: Caption
content: Pink orchids bloom in a blue pot on this cross-stitch bordered in brown. Invoking the conventions of still-life paintings, a single flower has fallen off the plant in a memento mori. Between the detached blossom and the three still clinging to their stem is the Chinese character for good fortune, “fú”. These details, deftly rendered in an index card-sized space, reflect artist Ira Blount’s (1918-2020) interests in both the natural world and in Asian cultures, while drawing attention to the universality of nature’s fleeting beauty.
label: Caption
content: After moving to Washington, DC following World War II, Ira Blount mastered dozens of artisanal crafts. His love for crafting, learning, and community engagement would endure over the course of his long life and career.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Gift of Ira Blount
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2011.0004.0103
objectType: label: Type
content: cross-stitch
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Aida fabric, cotton embroidery floss
label: Dimensions
content: 5 1/2 × 3 7/8 in. (14 × 9.9 cm)