The Orchid Pavilion Gathering / Sheng Maoye (Sheng Mao-yeh)
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1974/1.244
- Title
- The Orchid Pavilion Gathering
- Artist
- Sheng Maoye (Sheng Mao-yeh)
- Artist Nationality
- Chinese
- Artist Life Dates
- active 1594-164
- Medium and Support
- handscroll, ink and color on silk
- Object Creation Date
- 1621
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- China (nation)
- Jiangsu (province)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- China (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Jiangsu (province)
- Inscription
- Inscription of artist in the left edge: Painted in the first year of the T'ien-ch'i reign (1621), autumn, seventh month, sixteenth day, at Sheng-hu t'ien-she. Sheng Mao-yeh. (T'ien-ch'i yüan-nien ch'iu chi-yüeh chi-wang hsieh yü sheng-hu t'ien-she). Seal of artist: Mao-lin hsiu-chu jen-chia, Fang-wai-she, Nien-an chü-shih, Fang-ch'ing ch'iu-ho, Mao-yeh chih-yin, Yü-hua fu. Additional inscriptions and seals: Box label: Nien-an Sheng Mao-yeh hsiu-ch'i chüan, Sheng Mao-yeh pi Lan-t'ing ch'ü-shui mi-hua chüan. Seals: (unidentified) T'ai (?)-chou pi-ts'ang.
- Dimensions
- 31.1 cm x 214.7 cm (12 1/4 in. x 84 1/2 in.)
- Century
- 17th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- hand scroll
- Secondary Object Classification
- Painting
- Secondary Object Type
- figures on landscape
- Physical Description
- Handscroll depicting figures (42 men and 6 boys) in a landscape, most of whom are sitting along the banks of a stream as cups on lotus leaves float by. A small cluster of figures sits in a shelter over the water examining a handscroll. The painting includes an inscription, six artist’s seals and one collector’s seal.
- Subject Matter
- This elegant handscroll brings to life a famous historical event, a literary gathering of forty-one scholars celebrating the annual Spring Purification Festival at the Orchid Pavilion in the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. Held on the third day of the third month in the year 353, on this special occasion literati enjoyed a ritual drinking game which incorporated composing poetry. Cups of wine, resting on large leaves, were floated down a stream and if a scholar could not recite a suitable poem, he had to drink a cup of wine. The celebration grew ever merrier as retrieving wine cups became more precarious.
- What made this particular gathering so memorable was the presence of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303–361). Inside the pavilion Wang is seated at a table writing his preface to the collected poems of this gathering. His preface, which vividly describes the event and laments the rapid passage of time, is a classic of Chinese literature and calligraphy.
- Primary Keywords
- bamboo
- bridges
- cups
- drinking
- figures in landscape
- footbridges
- handscrolls
- landscapes
- men
- orchid
- rocks
- streams
- trees
- wen ren
- Secondary Keywords
- architecture
- asian
- bodies of water
- bodies of water and components of bodies of water
- bodies of water by size
- bridges (built works)
- bridges by function
- buildings and the land
- chinese
- chinese painting styles
- chinese styles
- chinese styles and periods
- containers
- containers by function or context
- containers for serving and consuming food
- culinary containers
- descriptors
- drinking vessels
- east asian
- figures
- flowers
- geography
- grass (plant material)
- history
- how we live
- inorganic material
- landscapes (environments)
- materials
- materials by composition
- materials by origin
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- paintings
- paintings by form
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by gender
- physical activities
- physical activities by general context
- plant material
- plants
- riverine bodies
- scroll paintings
- settlements and landscapes
- single built works
- single built works by function
- single built works by specific type
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- the natural world
- transportation structures
- transportation structures by form
- vegetation and vegetation components
- vegetation components
- vessels for serving and consuming food
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- woody plants
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 12002 x 1812
- File Size
- 2 MB
- Record
- 1974/1.244
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1974-sl-1.244/1974_1.244.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
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- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1974-SL-1.244:1974_1.244.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Orchid Pavilion Gathering; Sheng Maoye (Sheng Mao-yeh)." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1974-sl-1.244/1974_1.244.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 18, 2024.
