Cleveland Museum of Art

A Hundred Birds and the Three Friends

Bian WenjinLinkedCulture matchlcp-57ca0a56980c

Date: 1400–1425
Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Department: Chinese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 149880

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

In this hanging scroll birds rest and frolic among pines, bamboo, and flowering plum, plants known as “the three friends.” Due to their endurance in winter, they symbolize perseverance and friendship in adverse times. The naturalistic depiction of the birds refers to the bird-and-flower painting tradition of the Art Academy of the Song dynasty. The painter Bian Wenjin served at the court of the Ming dynasty Yongle Emperor (reigned 1402–24). This painting may have been hung in a private studio or palace hall on appropriate occasions.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Provenance: ?–1980: (Kozo Yabumoto 藪本公三, Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | 1980–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

Chinese Hanging Scroll Paintings
All objects are Chinese paintings executed as hanging scrolls using ink and/or color on paper, representing traditional East Asian artistic formats and techniques.
41 objects from 2 institutions