The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 16, 2026

A polychrome woodblock print on wrinkled, cream-colored paper depicts a large pink lotus flower blooming beside mottled olive-green leaves. Above, a pink bud sits on a stem. To the right, a bird with blue and black wings perches on a green seed pod, looking downward. Six vertical columns of calligraphy mark the upper center. Thin green stems and blades of grass arc across the lower composition.

Bird on Lotus

1700–1750

Southeast China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty

(1644–1911)
Multicolor woodblock print and embossing; ink and color on paper
30.1 x 38.2 cm (11 7/8 x 15 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.118
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
  • von Spee, Clarissa. “18th-Century Prints from Suzhou: A New Acquisition Transforms the Chinese Collection.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 65, no. 3 (2025): 28–29. Reproduced: p. 28 archive.org
    von Spee, Clarissa. “Print Revolutions: The Art of Chinese Printmaking.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 66, no. 3 (2026): 10–11. Reproduced: p. 10; Mentioned: pp. 10, 11 archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Bird on Lotus|url=false|author=|year=1700–1750|access-date=16 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.118