Lotus and Water Birds
Unidentified
Artist
Period:
Yuan
dynasty (1271–1368)
Date:
ca. 1300
Culture:
China
Medium:
Pair of
hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk
Dimensions:
Image
(each): 55 3/4 x 26 3/4 in. (141.6 x 67.9 cm) Overall with mounting (each): 107
1/2 x 27 1/4 in. (273.1 x 69.2 cm) Overall with knobs (each): 107 1/2 x 27 3/4
in. (273.1 x 70.5 cm)
Classification:
Paintings
Imported from India, the lotus—growing
from the slime of a pond, its blossoms blooming unsullied—was linked to
Buddhist images of purity and rebirth. By the thirteenth century, naturalistic
depictions of lotus in different seasons also evoked the ephemeral nature of
physical beauty. This large-scale decorative work is by a professional painter
of the Piling School, situated near Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The midsummer
scene (on the right) shows lotus flowers in early stages of budding and bloom,
while the autumnal scene (on the left) shows its later stages: petals falling,
leaves turning brown, and seed pods ripening. The newly sprouted water reeds of
midsummer also contrast with the late-blooming water plant and the smartweed
that has gone to seed, while the busy activity of a pair of ducks skimming the
water for food on the right is juxtaposed with two egrets resting quietly on
the left.
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