Bird on a branch / Artist Unknown, China
Viewer
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2002/2.353
- Title
- Bird on a branch
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, China
- Artist Nationality
- Chinese
- Medium and Support
- album leaf, ink and colors on silk
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1420 - circa 1435
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- China (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- China (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Dorothy Dunlap Cahill
- Style/Group/Movement
- academic bird-and-flower
- Dimensions
- 21.3 cm x 23.15 cm (8 3/8 in. x 9 1/8 in.)
- Century
- 15th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- album leaf
- Secondary Object Classification
- Painting
- Secondary Object Type
- bird and flower
- Physical Description
- A bird (probably a sparrow) perches among peach blossoms, while singing to welcome the spring.
- Subject Matter
- The tradition of bird and flower painting to which this image belongs dates back to the Tang period (618–907); in the Southern Sung (1127–1279) court it became a dominant mode as emperors themselves took up brushes to produce highly refined, delicate-colored paintings in an intimate format. Throughout their long history, these apparently straightforward and charming paintings conveyed symbolic or allegorical messages for the knowledgeable viewer.
- This Early Ming painting executed in the in the style of the Southern Sung court celebrates the dynasty that restored Han Chinese rule after nearly a century of Mongol rule during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). The blossoming pear tree is a symbol of wise and benevolent administration, while the singing bird symbolizes the loyal scholar-official, overjoyed by the restoration of traditional Chinese government.
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- buildings and the land
- herbaceous plants
- landscapes (environments)
- natural landscapes
- plants
- settlements and landscapes
- vegetation and vegetation components
- vegetation components
- 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
- 2497 x 2281
- File Size
- 763 KB
- Record
- 2002/2.353
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2002-sl-2.353/2002_2_353.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2002-SL-2.353:2002_2_353.JPG
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"Bird on a branch; Artist Unknown, China." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2002-sl-2.353/2002_2_353.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 19, 2024.