The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Vertically long hanging scroll in muted colors on beige depicting flared green leaves and lotus flowers with rows of pink petals arcing over water, stems extending from the lower left corner. Below stand two herons, white birds with long legs and necks. Above, one kingfisher, a small bird with a long beak, stands on a stem looking at another kingfisher flying in from the upper right. Above, two pink dragonflies fly above a lotus bud.

Lotuses, Insects, and Birds

1800s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Image: 112.6 x 57.5 cm (44 5/16 x 22 5/8 in.); Overall: 174.5 x 77.5 cm (68 11/16 x 30 1/2 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1985.18
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Given its subject matter of lotus flowers, herons, kingfisher, and dragonflies, this hanging scroll may have been hung for display during the summer.

Description

Pairs of herons, kingfishers, and dragonflies punctuate a profusion of lotus in this composition that, given the orientation of the herons and the clustering of motifs in the left-hand side of the work, may have once been the left painting of a pair. Given its subject matter, this hanging scroll may have been hung for display during the summer.
  • ?–1985
    (Katsuhiro Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Dempsey, James H. “The Annual Report for 1984.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 72, no. 4 (July 1985): 242–298. Reproduced: p. 180; Mentioned: p. 206, no. 167 www.jstor.org
    Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. cat. no. 47
    Cha, Mi-ae. "The Volume Three of the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting and Late Joseon-Period Bird and Flower Paintings [芥子園畵傳 3집과 조선 후기 화조화]." Misulsa yeongu (2012): 53–86. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Yi, Eun-ha. "Naturalism in Late Joseon-Period Bird and Flower Paintings [조선후기 화조화의 形寫性]." Hangukhak yeogu (2013): 65–91. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 219, no. 122
  • Gold Needles: Embroidery Arts from Korea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 7-October 25, 2020).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 238). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 21, 2014-January 12, 2015).
    The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
    Asian Autumn: Later Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 1992-January 3, 1993).
    Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).
  • {{cite web|title=Lotuses, Insects, and Birds|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.18