Poems
dated 1934
Medium
Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on paper
Dimensions
7 1/4 x 20 3/4 in. (18.4 x 52.7 cm)
Classification
Calligraphy
Culture
China
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1995
Accession Number
1995.289.9
Art Historical Context
Behold the elegant "Poems" by Zhang Qihou, a masterful work of Chinese calligraphy dated 1934 Crafted in ink on paper, this originated as a folding fan, later mounted as an album leaf, measuring 7¼ x 20¾ inches. Now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Department—thanks to a generous 1995 gift from Robert Hatfield Ell in memory of La Ferne Hatfieldsworth—it exemplifies the enduring tradition of literati art. In the Republican era of 1930s China, amid rapid modernization, artists like Zhang Qihou preserved classical calligraphic forms while infusing them with personal expressio...