Cormorants on Rock
Medium
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
10 7/16 x 10 3/8 in. (26.5 x 26.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · early Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
From the Collection of A. W. Bahr, Purchase, Fletcher Fund, 1947
Accession Number
47.18.79
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Asian Art collection, *Cormorants on Rock is a delicate painting from China's early Ming dynasty (136–1644). Created an unidentified artist, this work depicts cormorants perched on rugged rock, captured in ink and color on silk. Originally a fan, it was later mounted as an album—a common practice to preserve these intimate, portable artworks for collectors. Measuring just over 10 inches square, compact size invites close contemplation of the birds' poised forms and the subtle play of textures. In the early Ming era, Chinese painting flourished with re...