Flowers, birds, and insects
date: label: Date
content: 15th century
label: Period
content: Ming dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Formerly attributed to Qian Xuan 錢選 (late 13th century)
notes: label: Label
content: Bamboo and a variety of flowers, including squash flowers, daisies, camellias, and dandelions, grow in a natural setting. Butterflies, bees, and beetles appear throughout the scroll. A warbler and a pair of finches cling to the flower and berry braches searching for small insects. This well-composed and executed painting, which is based on a Sung work, bears a spurious signature of Ch'ien Hsuan (c. 1235-1300).
label: Provenance
content: To 1909
label: Provenance
content: Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1909 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, in 1909 [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 Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 689, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.
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: Seasons: Chinese Flowers (July 2, 2011 to January 8, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Bird and Flower Painting (January 27, 1986 to June 30, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Flower Paintings (March 18 to September 22, 1983)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1943 (October 4, 1943 to August 7, 1946)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Paintings, 1924 (June 2, 1924 to March 14, 1931)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Panels and Scrolls (May 2, 1923 to June 2, 1924)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Riu Cheng Chai (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: insect
label: Topic
content: flower
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
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: F1909.230
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): 33.8 x 272.6 cm (13 5/16 x 107 5/16 in)