Crane in a Bamboo Grove

Crane in a Bamboo Grove

Unidentified Artist 

Period:

Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Date:

14th–early 15th century

Culture:

China

Medium:

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Dimensions:

Image: 65 5/16 x 39 11/16 in. (165.9 x 100.8 cm) Overall with mounting: 65 5/16 x 39 11/16 in. (165.9 x 100.8 cm) Overall with knobs: 118 1/4 x 49 1/2 in. (300.4 x 125.7 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

A favorite image in Chinese society and a familiar presence in imperial gardens as well as refined scholarly retreats, cranes were also renowned as the vehicles of Daoist immortals. Their long life span and loyalty to a single mate made them symbols of longevity and faithfulness. Here, a Manchurian crane, identified by its distinctive red forehead, strolls through a corner of the palace garden. Stopping in midstride and turning its head, the bird has just been startled by a branch of bamboo that has brushed against its tail feathers.

One of only a handful of such large-scale images of birds to survive from the late Yuan or early Ming dynasty, this painting derives its subject from a composition by the emperor Huizong (r. 1100–25), who painted a set of six cranes in different poses. The complex branch structure of the twisting bamboo and the intricate detail of the bird's plumage-with every filament of the feathers carefully delineated-reveal a level of naturalistic description that predates the more conventionalized images of cranes created by the Ming court painter Bian Wenjin (ca. 1354–1428).