Minneapolis Institute of Art

Presentation Hanging for a Birthday

China

Date

Qianlong period, 1739–1740

Medium

Satin, silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

When made for court personages, government officials, or other members of the aristocracy, commemorative hangings proclaiming meritorious service, major birthdays, or anniversaries could be spectacular objects. The dedicatory inscriptions are typically dated, while the figural imagery relating to family history is Confucian in nature. Daoist immortals and emblems connoting long life are also a standard part of the decoration. This hanging celebrates the seventieth birthdays of a husband and wife. In China, major birthday celebrations were held at sixty, seventy, and eighty years of age. The border surrounding the inscription of this magnificent hanging is comprised of one hundred stylized variations of the shou character which means long life. It is further surrounded by figurative illustrations implying good wishes for the advancement in officialdom. The images on both vertical boarder are eight immortals. The lengthy inscription gives a clear rendition of Confucian values. As the case is here, prominent writers and calligraphers were typically recruited by the family to compose the actual verse. Asia

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