Unknown
LotusQing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1889

Not on view

Hanging scroll painting in ink and pale color, depicting lotus blossoms, lily pads, and goldfish in a pond, with Chinese inscriptions and red seals

Ink and red seal impressions on cream paper; a large square seal with Chinese seal-script characters at center, flanked by two smaller rectangular seals at left and right, with a vertical column of Chinese calligraphy in regular script to the right of the central seal.

Ink and color painting on paper depicting a pink and white lotus flower with large rounded leaves and slender stalks, alongside a spray of grass or reeds. Two inscriptions in Chinese calligraphy with red seals occupy the upper left area.

Chinese ink and color painting on paper depicting a white lotus blossom among broad green leaves and reedy stalks, rendered with fine brushwork in pale washes; columns of Chinese calligraphy and a red seal at left.

Chinese ink and color painting on paper depicting two pink-red goldfish swimming among oval lily pads in teal and green, beneath a large lotus leaf with lace-like perforations; red seal stamp at upper left.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Lotus
Place Made: China
Date Made: Qing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1889
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 36 5/8 x 17 1/8 in. (93.03 x 43.5 cm); Mount: 64 x 22 1/8 in. (162.56 x 56.2 cm); Roller: 25 5/8 in. (65.09 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Wilbur Long
Accession Number: M.72.100.2
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Chinese and Korean Art
Curatorial Notes: One of the most powerful female rulers in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi was an accomplished painter and calligrapher. She is also known to have hired ghost painters (daibi). This beautifully rendered scroll painting suggests that the artist was well trained in the flower-and-bird genre. The upper lotus flower is in bloom; the top and bottom of its leaves are distinguished by different shades of green. The lower lotus flower has not yet bloomed, and its leaves are slightly withered, indicated by soft brownish washes. The artist’s masterful command of the mogu (“boneless”) technique is apparent in the delicately depicted leaf perforations, of various size and color, as well as the green circles (more lotus leaves) floating on the water’s surface. The water is a lightly tinted green. The gracefully curving shapes of two goldfish mimic the swirl of faintly sketched water plants. Many of Cixi’s flower-and-bird paintings are said to have been made by a female artist from Yunnan named Miao Jiahui, and this is likely one of them. Another of Cixi’s ghost painters, Qu Zhaolin, specialized in pines, cranes, and mushrooms.

The inscription on the top middle right reads: “In the upper huan [the first third] of the seventh month, in the autumn of the year jichou of the Guangxu reign [1889], by imperial brush [shanghuan yubi, Empress Cixi’s usual signature].” The large square seal reads: “Cixi huangtaihou zhibao [Treasure of the Empress Dowager Cixi].” The inscriptions on the left side were written by three ministers––Zhu Yifan, Xu Fu, and Wang Yirong.

Wan Kong

2024

Related Unframed

Unknown
LotusQing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1889

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Lotus
Place Made: China
Date Made: Qing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1889
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 36 5/8 x 17 1/8 in. (93.03 x 43.5 cm); Mount: 64 x 22 1/8 in. (162.56 x 56.2 cm); Roller: 25 5/8 in. (65.09 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Wilbur Long
Accession Number: M.72.100.2
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Chinese and Korean Art
Curatorial Notes: One of the most powerful female rulers in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi was an accomplished painter and calligrapher. She is also known to have hired ghost painters (daibi). This beautifully rendered scroll painting suggests that the artist was well trained in the flower-and-bird genre. The upper lotus flower is in bloom; the top and bottom of its leaves are distinguished by different shades of green. The lower lotus flower has not yet bloomed, and its leaves are slightly withered, indicated by soft brownish washes. The artist’s masterful command of the mogu (“boneless”) technique is apparent in the delicately depicted leaf perforations, of various size and color, as well as the green circles (more lotus leaves) floating on the water’s surface. The water is a lightly tinted green. The gracefully curving shapes of two goldfish mimic the swirl of faintly sketched water plants. Many of Cixi’s flower-and-bird paintings are said to have been made by a female artist from Yunnan named Miao Jiahui, and this is likely one of them. Another of Cixi’s ghost painters, Qu Zhaolin, specialized in pines, cranes, and mushrooms.

The inscription on the top middle right reads: “In the upper huan [the first third] of the seventh month, in the autumn of the year jichou of the Guangxu reign [1889], by imperial brush [shanghuan yubi, Empress Cixi’s usual signature].” The large square seal reads: “Cixi huangtaihou zhibao [Treasure of the Empress Dowager Cixi].” The inscriptions on the left side were written by three ministers––Zhu Yifan, Xu Fu, and Wang Yirong.

Wan Kong

2024