The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Folding screen with eight vertically long panels with white rectangles framing peony flowers in the upper two thirds, and a light brown subtle abstracted flower and dot pattern in the remaining space. Branching up and clustered among green leaves, the frilled layers of the peonies are colored red, purple, yellow, and blue with each petal edged in white, except for the red peonies, edged in a lighter orange-red.

Peonies

early 1900s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392−1910) or Japanese colonial period (1910−1945)
Eight-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
Painting: 105.8 x 32.6 cm (41 5/8 x 12 13/16 in.); Overall framed: 180.2 x 368.4 cm (70 15/16 x 145 1/16 in.)
Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D. 2022.59
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This early 20th-century folding screen has both sides painted with the image of bloomed peonies.

Description

By the late nineteenth century, peony paintings with bold designs and striking graphic stylization were increasingly produced and consumed by middle-class members because of its symbolic meaning: prosperity and wealth. This early 20th-century folding screen of peonies may have used for festive occasions such as weddings.
  • 2019–2022
    The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D., New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2022–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sim, Sung-mi. "The Popularity of Peony Paintings and the Pursuit of Wealth in 19th-century Korea [19세기 모란도 성행과 조선사회의 부귀지향]." Gangjwa misulsa 46 (2016): 109-134. www.dbpia.co.kr
    "Patterns and Decoration in the Joseon Dynasty." Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries v.28: i.1 (November 2024). Reproduced asianartnewspaper.com
  • Pattern and Decoration in Royal Art of the Joseon Dynasty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 9, 2024-March 16, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Peonies|url=false|author=|year=early 1900s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.59