A Hundred Birds and the Three Friends
Medium
hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
Dimensions
painting: 153.5 × 95.4 cm · overall with knobs: 245 × 110 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
1980.12
Tags
About this artwork
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...