Birds and Flowers
Birds and flowers
Paintings of birds and flowers have a long tradition in East Asian art. In Korea folding screens depicting combinations of birds and flowers became prevalent in the late Joseon period and continued to be popular in the twentieth century.
Carefully composed and meticulously detailed, the scenes in this colorful and exquisitely painted screen are characterized by heightened realism. Each panel portrays one or more pairs of birds resting on or flying around a blossoming plant, a tree, or reeds. The rightmost panel also includes a hen with her chicks under a rock. The symbolism of male-female pairings of birds—mandarin ducks, for example, are known to mate for life—made such screens suitable decoration for wedding ceremonies or a bridal chamber. Beyond domestic bliss, paintings of birds and flowers also embodied wishes for wealth, career advancement, longevity, and fecundity.
Unidentified Korean artist
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Arts <br /><br />http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44760
Late 19th - early 20th century
Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift and John M. Crawford Jr. Bequest, 1993
Ten-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
Painting
Accession Number:1993.255
Hwajo-003
Flower and Bird Screen (Hwajodo Byeongpung), 화조도 병풍
Flowers and birds
10-fold flower and bird screen, depicting pairs of birds amongst flowers including cranes and plum blossom and ducks and lotus flowers, Korean, late 19th century.
Unidentified Korean artist
Victoria and Albert Museum<br /><br />http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O22452
1880-1910
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. All Rights Reserved
10 fold screen; paper, silk and wood
Painting
Museum number: FE.21-1991
Hwajo-004