Design for Wallpaper or Panel (?) with an Orientalist Motif with Three Phoenix-Like Exotic Birds with Colorful Feathers and a Flowering Tree within an Ornamental Frame with Tassels Resembling a Tapestry
1870–1900 (?)
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 in. × 5 11/16 in. (27.9 × 14.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.50.178
Art Historical Context
This exquisite watercolor design, created by an anonymous French artist around 1870–1900, captures the allure of Orientalism in 19th decorative arts. Titled a possible blueprint for wallpaper or a panel, it features three, phoenix-like exotic birds with vibrant, multicolored feathers perched amid a blooming tree. The composition is elegantly enclosed in an ornate frame with dangling tassels, evoking rich texture of a tapestry—perfect for adorning Victorian interiors. Orientalism flourished in France during this era, fueled by colonial expansions and a romantic fascination with Eastern motifs,...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 19th century · 1800–1900
**Anonymous, French, 19th Century (ca. 1800–1900)** The artist cataloged as Anonymous, French, 19th century embodies the enigmatic yet essential contributions of unidentified creators to France's vibrant 19th-century art world. Active roughly between 1800 and 1900, this figure—or potentially collective workshop—produced a diverse array of works amid the nation's transition from Neoclassicism thro...