The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 14, 2026

A horizontal woodblock print on cream-colored paper depicts two pomegranate branches. On the upper right, a branch features a large green pomegranate and muted red flowers. Extending toward the lower left, another branch holds a split yellow pomegranate with red seeds, a green grasshopper perched on its surface. In the upper left, four columns of black calligraphic script are arranged vertically. Muted green leaves and small orange blossoms appear throughout.

Grasshopper on Pomegranate

1700–1750

China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty

(1644–1911)
Woodblock printed in black and six other colors
Print only: 29.5 x 28.3 cm (11 5/8 x 11 1/8 in.); Overall: 40.5 x 49.4 cm (15 15/16 x 19 7/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.116
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets of separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.

Description

In the 1600s, printing flourished in such Jiangnan cities as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huizhou, evolving from privately enjoyed illustrated books printed in color to more commercialized single-sheet color prints that were hung on walls and became part of the rich urban visual culture.
  • ?–2025
    (Christer von der Burg, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2025–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Grasshopper on Pomegranate|url=false|author=|year=1700–1750|access-date=14 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.116