Herons and water plants
date: label: Date
content: 1368-1644
label: Period
content: Ming dynasty
notes: label: Description
content: Depicts herons among various water plants, including lily pads and lotus plants, on the shore of a body of water. No seals, inscriptions or labels. Stained ivory roller knobs.
label: Label
content: Decorative yet realistic paintings of bird-and-flower subjects enjoyed enormous popularity at the Ming court and among privileged members of society. This style suited the contemporary taste and resembled a school of imperially sponsored painting that had been popular during the Song dynasty (960-1279), a period of great cultural blossoming. The Ming emperors intentionally recalled the Song to bolster their position as sophisticated Chinese rulers aware of and equal to the past heritage.
label: Label
content: The style of this work compresses space so that the picture reads as a harmonious decorative pattern, yet it also offers a view of natural pond life. This style that combines ornament and naturalism is associated with the court artist Lü Ji (ca.1420-ca.1505) and his circle. The theme of egrets relies on visual punning, or a rebus, and takes into account that the Chinese word for egret sounds like another word that means wealth through official position.
label: Provenance
content: To 1893
label: Provenance
content: Tozo Takayanagi, New York to 1893 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1893 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tozo Takayanagi in June 1893 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See List of Kakemono Reserved, No. 21, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Bird and Flower Painting (December 17, 1993 to May 31, 1994)
label: Exhibition History
content: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting (II) (May 9, 1993 to May 31, 1994)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Takayanagi Tozo 高柳陶造 (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: bird
label: Topic
content: heron
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: lotus
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1893.32
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 99 x 43.2 cm (39 x 17 in)