Artwork Page for Bird on Pomegranate

Details / Information for Bird on Pomegranate

Bird on Pomegranate

石榴上的鳥兒

first half of the 1700s

China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty

(1644–1911)
Medium
Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Measurements
30 x 37.4 cm (11 13/16 x 14 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.108
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

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.
A horizontally oriented polychrome woodblock print on cream paper depicts a bird perched on a flowering pomegranate branch. The bird, with a black-and-white head and green-gray body, leans downward. Winding brown branches sprout pale yellow and white blossoms with green leaves across the surface. Five vertical columns of black calligraphy are printed in the upper right. Faint staining appears along the far left edge.

Bird on Pomegranate

first half of the 1700s

China, Suzhou, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

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