The appeal of Southern Song academic flower and bird painting, exemplified here, derives from careful realism; studied, selective presentation; and genuine affection lavished upon the small and colorful things of the garden.
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南宋 佚名 竹梅小禽圖 團扇
Title:Sparrows, plum blossoms, and bamboo
Artist:Unidentified artist Chinese
Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Date:late 12th century
Culture:China
Medium:Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions:Image: 10 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (25.7 x 26.7 cm) Overall with mounting: 15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (39.4 x 39.4 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923
Object Number:24.80.487
Inscription: No artist’s inscription, signature or seal
Collectors’ seals
Zhang Duxing 張篤行 (1646 jinshi degree) 張篤行印
Wang Yuanqi 王原祁 (1642–1715) 掃花庵
Unidentified 小山則之 袁桂南宋 佚名 竹梅小禽圖 團扇 Unidentified Artist (late 12th century) Sparrows, Plum Blossoms, and Bamboo (Zhumei xiaoqin tu) Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk Image: 10 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (25.7 x 26.7 cm) Overall with mounting: 15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (39.4 x 39.4 cm) Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923 24.80.487
DOCUMENTATION
No artist’s inscription, signature or seal
Collectors’ seals
Zhang Duxing 張篤行 (1646 jinshi degree) 張篤行印
Wang Yuanqi 王原祁 (1642–1715) 掃花庵
Unidentified 小山則之 袁桂囗囗 白雲囗囗
Illegible: 5
Illegible: 5
Mary Clark Thompson , New York (until d. 1923; bequeathed to MMA)
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "A World of Flowers," May 2, 1963–June 3, 1963.
New York. China Institute in America. "Treasures from the Metropolitan Museum," October 24, 1979–January 27, 1980.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Peach Blossom Spring," November 21, 1983–June 3, 1984.
Washington, DC. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. "Roy Lichtenstein: Landscapes in the Chinese Style," November 8, 1998–February 7, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cultivated Landscapes: Reflections of Nature in Chinese Painting with Selections from the Collection of Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill," September 10, 2002–February 9, 2003.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Great Waves: Chinese Themes in the Arts of Korea and Japan I," March 1–September 21, 2003.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Gardens: Pavilions, Studios, Retreats," August 18, 2012–January 6, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the Metropolitan Collection (Rotation Two)," May 7–October 11, 2016.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 262–63, pl. 47.
Bickford, Maggie. Ink Plum: The Making of a Chinese Scholar-Painting Genre. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, pl. 7.
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