The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

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

Peonies and Rocks

early 1900s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392−1910) or Japanese colonial period (1910−1945)
Six-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
Overall: 175.8 x 264.6 cm (69 3/16 x 104 3/16 in.); Painting: 104.7 x 30.8 cm (41 1/4 x 12 1/8 in.)
Gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D. 2022.60
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In East Asian art, peonies traditionally symbolize prosperity and wealth.

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.
  • 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
  • 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 and Rocks|url=false|author=|year=early 1900s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.60