Artwork Page for Flowers and Rocks

Details / Information for Flowers and Rocks

Flowers and Rocks

花石圖

1368–1644

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)
Medium
hanging scroll, color on silk
Measurements
Overall: 162.6 x 48.6 cm (64 x 19 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles L. Freer 1915.116
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Here, the painter uses delicate brushwork and vivid colors to depict an early summer scene of three kinds of flowers growing beside a garden rock: From top to bottom we see flowering pomegranate, then peonies, and lilies below. Like the peony, which conveys wishes for wealth and prosperity, the pomegranate flower, here in festive red color turning soon into fruit with many seeds, is associated with the wish for many sons. The lily, in Chinese "baihe," is a homophone with the pun "togetherness for a hundred years," expressing wishes for harmony and unity. The scroll would have made a suitable gift to married women.
A hanging scroll depicts a vertical scene with a large, porous blue-gray rock surrounded by white and pink blossoms. A slender branch with small red flowers arches from the top right. Near the bottom, pink lilies grow from long, slender green leaves. Vertical Chinese calligraphy appears on the left against a muted tan background. The composition uses delicate lines and soft colors to detail the garden flora and stone.

Flowers and Rocks

1368–1644

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

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