Birds and Flowers

화조도 [花鳥圖]

late 1800s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)

Medium

Ten-panel folding screen with designs and inscriptions burnt into paper (pyrography)

Measurements

Overall: 153.5 x 443 cm (60 7/16 x 174 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Alan Carter Covell and Kyu J. Pak-Covell 1991.80

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The painting is done by a pyrography method, a technique of burning the surface of materials with a heated tool.

Description

The image depicted on this folding screen is not executed in ink, but rather a method called “pyrography" or "nakhwa,” a technique of burning the surface of materials ranging from wood to paper with the delicately controlled application of a heated metal tool. This technique became widely popular in the 19th century. Scorched marks here replace brush strokes. Nakhwa method is now designated as a Korean Intangible Cultural Asset by the Korean government.