The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion)

Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion)

1400s–1500s
(1368–1644)
Carved cinnabar-red lacquer
Overall: 48.5 x 21 cm (19 1/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1974.72
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

A stylized wave pattern represents water; land areas are covered in an overall diamond pattern.

Description

This lacquer panel, perhaps part of a piece of furniture, depicts the Gathering at Lanting in 353 CE that took place during the Spring Purification Festival, a day spent traditionally outside in nature. Here, cups of wine are set afloat on a winding stream as part of a poetry competition among the attendants.

By the Ming dynasty the painting theme Gathering at Lanting also appeared on lacquer, jade, and porcelain. The main figure and central motif, Calligrapher Wang Xizhi Watching Geese, has been moved toward the upper register of the composition.
  • ?–1974
    Frederick M. Mayer [1899–1974], New York, NY, consigned to Christie's for sale
    June 24–25, 1974
    (Christie's, London, England, June 24–25, 1974 sale, lot no. 123, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1974–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie, Manson & Woods, London. The Frederick M. Mayer Collection of Chinese Art. June 24–25, 1974 sale. Lot 123.
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Mentioned: cat. no 183, p. 103 www.jstor.org
    “Annual Report for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 6 (June 1975): 175–209. Reproduced: p. 189 www.jstor.org
    Williams, Marjorie. Chinese Painting--an Escape from the "Dusty" World. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 27, p. 43
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 13, 2017).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    Arts of China from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, OH (February 27-April 10, 1983).
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Chinese Paintings: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 7-April 5, 1981).
    Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Gathering at Lanting (Orchid Pavilion)|url=false|author=|year=1400s–1500s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.72