The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Bamboo, Rocks and Lonely Orchids

Bamboo, Rocks and Lonely Orchids

1271–1368
(Chinese, 1254–1322)
China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Handscroll; ink on paper
Mounted: 52.4 x 1337.7 cm (20 5/8 x 526 5/8 in.); Image: 50.9 x 147.8 cm (20 1/16 x 58 3/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund by exchange 1963.515
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

One of the many inscriptions records that the handscroll was last remounted by Xu Shudong 徐曙東 of Jiaxing 嘉興 in 1802.

Description

Bamboo and orchids are motifs associated with the virtues of the scholar-official. Bamboo that bends but does not break stands for moral integrity, endurance, and loyalty. Wild, fragrant orchids that bloom in the shadow symbolize modesty and the aura of learnedness. Rocks are often considered to be miniature versions of mountains that form the universe. This monochrome ink painting is brushed on paper in a masterfully calligraphic manner. While the rocks are delineated in chalky, dry strokes showing the effect of flying white (feibai), the bamboo and orchids are drawn with a swift brush demonstrating the virtuosity of the artist.
  • Gu Xin 顧信 [1279–1353]
    Gu Ying 顧瑛 [1310–1369]
    Mo Zhichong 莫至翀 [1400s]
    Wu Ting 吳廷 [first half of 1600s]
    Xu Shouhe 徐守和 [1600s]
    Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 [1620–1691]
    Tang Zuomei 唐作梅 [late 1700s–1800s]
    ?–1963
    (Frank Caro [1904–1980], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1963–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Oriental Art Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1963." Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America 18 (1964): pp. 69-91. Reproduced: p. 71, fig. 10 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 262 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; [distributed by the Press of Case Western Reserve University], 1968. cat. no. 235
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 262 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman Emery, and James Robinson. The Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: Asia Society; distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1974. cat. no. 10
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 346 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. "River Village: Fisherman's Joy." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Vol. 66, No. 7 (Oct., 1979), p. 271-288. Reproduced: p. 271-288, Fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 81, pp. 100-101
    Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. The Nature and Significance of the Collection of Liang Ch'ing-Piao. Taipei, Taiwan: Chung-hua ming-kuo, 1960. Mentioned: p. 134, no. 156
    钟银兰主编《中国鉴藏家印鉴大全》（江西美术出版社，2008.7）
    Shanghai bo wu guan 上海博物館. Han mo hui cui: xi du Meiguo cang Zhongguo Wu dai Song Yuan shu hua zhen pin [翰墨薈萃: 细读美国藏中国五代宋元书画珍品 = Masterpieces of early Chinese painting and calligraphy in American collections]. Beijing: Beijing da xue chu ban she, 2012. Reproduced: cat no. 48, pp. 447-457
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: p. 102-108
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. pp. 102-108
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. p. 102
    Xie, Zhiliu 谢稚柳. Tang Wu dai Song Yuan ming ji 唐五代宋元名迹. Shanghai: Shanghai ren min chu ban she, 2018. Reproduced: pp. 178–185
    Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. The Nature and Significance of the Collection of Liang Ch'ing-Piao. Taipei, Taiwan: Chung-hua ming-kuo, 1960. 134
  • Inspired by Chinese Landscape and Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 14, 2017-February 5, 2018).
    Masterpieces of Early Chinese Painting and Calligraphy in American Collections. Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China (organizer) (November 1, 2012-January 3, 2013).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981).
    Looking East: Yuan Dynasty Paintings. Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (September 15-November 6, 1976).
    The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974).
    Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 24, 1968).
    Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=Bamboo, Rocks and Lonely Orchids|url=false|author=Zhao Mengfu|year=1271–1368|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.515