COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MIA_.62.70.7
AMICA Library Year:
2002
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Unknown
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Name-CRT:
Ming dynasty
Title:
Swan and Cygnets
View:
Front
Creation Date:
14th century - 15th century
Creation Start Date:
1300
Creation End Date:
1499
Materials and Techniques:
ink and color on silk
Dimensions:
H.62 x W.35-1/2 in.
Component Measured:
overall
Measurement Unit:
in
AMICA Contributor:
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Owner Location:
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ID Number:
62.70.7
Credit Line:
Gift of Miss Alice O'Brien
Context:
By the Sung dynasty (960-1280) the Chinese had perfected a pictorial art form called hua niao (flower and bird painting). Chinese artists combined a highly descriptive approach to rendering plants and animals with themes that had psychological implications. Based on a composition by the eleventh century artist Wu Yuan-yu, this carefully executed painting of a swan and cygnets forms a pair with another scroll of the same subject matter. The compositions express a psychological realism between parent and child that is emblematic of traditional Confucian values of family unity. Large paired paintings like these were commonly hung in the reception halls of aristocratic homes as well as palaces during the early Ming period.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MIA_.22740c.tif
